Lenovo shows ThinkBook concept laptop with extendable OLED screen

Lenovo shows a ThinkBook concept laptop with an extendable OLED screen. The screen, which normally has a diagonal of 12.7 inches, can extend to 15.3 inches with an aspect ratio of 8:9. The company also shows a smartphone with a retractable screen.

Lenovo shows the concept laptop during the MWC fair in Barcelona. The laptop has a 12.7-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 2024×1604 pixels and an aspect ratio of 4:3. However, the screen has a button on the side that allows users to extend the screen, which uses two motors.

When that happens, the screen is ‘stretched’ to a 15.3″ diagonal with an almost square aspect ratio of 8:9 and a resolution of 2024×2368 pixels. With that aspect ratio, the screen is equivalent to two small 16:9 screens which are placed on top of each other. The screen is said to be the same as that in the second generation Thinkpad X1 Fold. It appears that the bottom few pixels of that screen in the rollable are not used.

The screen is produced by Sharp and can be unfolded 20,000 to 30,000. That corresponds to the number of times the ThinkPad X1 Fold can be unfolded. Lenovo says it is still working on reducing the size of the motors and the screen, which slides under the keyboard. Preventing the laptop from tipping over when the screen is fully unfolded also poses a challenge for the designers. The battery is therefore placed at the very front. It is unknown what further specifications the ThinkBook concept laptop has.

It is also still unclear whether and when Lenovo will actually use extendable OLED screens in its laptops. The company already produces tablet-like laptops with foldable screens, which the company offers in its ThinkPad series. Lenovo subsidiary Motorola also showed a concept phone with an extendable screen during the MWC, which was displayed on the stand next to the concept laptop.