Computer manufacturers are taking a cue from smartphone developers by releasing foldable laptops.
Few laptops really turn heads in our technology-saturated age, but I saw people at my local cafe trying to figure out what the heck I was using.
Clearly, much of the Thinkpad
With a huge screen that rises vertically above the keyboard and folds in the middle, Lenovo’s Thinkpad .
The Thinkpad X1 Fold can be used in many different ways (Lenovo)
The tablet size is almost square and the screen looks great (Pix Rob Waugh)
The Thinkpad
As with the latest wave of foldable phones, the screen now feels solid and durable and can be folded without a wrinkle in sight.
Versatility is the idea that you can transform it from a flexible vertical screen to a widescreen laptop, from a clamshell laptop with an on-screen ‘virtual’ keyboard to a very large tablet, all using a sturdy stand that attaches magnetically your screen is confirmed. the back.
For some reason you can even clamp the separate QWERTY keyboard over the bottom half of the screen and turn it into a normal laptop.
There’s also a pen that snaps magnetically onto the top, allowing you to draw on the screen.
Lenovo unveiled an early version of this device at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), but the updated version has a huge and beautiful OLED screen (which is almost square, in a 16:3 aspect ratio).
Rivals like HP and LG have announced their own versions, and Asus already has one on the market.
So – as always with any technological innovation – the big question is: ‘Why?’
The biggest selling point here is clearly the screen, which is huge and beautiful (it’s great for movies, although the unusual shape means you have black bars at the top and bottom).
You can use it in book format (Lenovo)
It’s surprisingly comfortable to type on the screen (Pix Rob Waugh)
There’s a magnetic pen you can use to take notes and draw on the screen (Pix Rob Waugh)
The foldable aspect makes it quite easy to fit a lot of screen into a bag: when folded it is absolutely small.
It’s actually very comfortable to use vertically (the idea is that you can use it for coding or editing long documents), and it actually feels very natural to have a slight bend in the middle.
It’s surprisingly comfortable to use with the onscreen keyboard, and I can see it being useful for multitasking travelers even without the optional QWERTY add-on.
As at the top end of the foldable phone market, the screen here folds completely flat, with no space in the middle (it sounds like a minor detail, but because it doesn’t have a ‘gap’ it folds flatter, feels more durable and it attracts less dust).
Unlike early foldable phones, this one feels pretty indestructible and has military-grade durability specs: I wasn’t afraid to throw it in a shoulder bag (obviously, with the screen folded over, I’m not a psychopath).
The flexible screen offers many possibilities (Nenovo)
It’s fast and responsive regardless of whether you’re scribbling on the screen (Pix Rob Waugh)
It’s fast and responsive whether you’re scribbling on the screen, typing, or using the touchscreen with your fingers.
The keyboard connects via Bluetooth and is a very solid keyboard, complete with mouse pad and navigation button in the middle.
Battery life is great, easily lasting a day of moderate use, with a fast charge mode for quick top-ups.
Of course, there is one pretty big ‘but’: the price.
Starting at $2,499.00 and going up to over $4,000, many models are more than all three laptops my family uses combined.
Of course, there’s always a price to pay for being an early adopter (just like with the current generation of foldable phones), so for now this is a no-holds-barred luxury device for people who want to enjoy the latest tech first.
But this is a device that certainly has both potential and value – so expect to see more of these folding machines in the coming years…