It's CES, and just like every year, Lenovo is going big with some crazy devices. This year, it's a 14-inch laptop with a rollable OLED display that expands to 16.7 inches, called the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable.
Indeed, it's pretty neat. You can press a button on the keyboard to toggle it, but it also does hand tracking. You have to put your palm in front of the webcam, wait a couple of seconds for the system to recognize it, and then slowly move your hand up or down. Honestly, it's easier to just press the button on the keyboard.
Then, you'll see a full-screen animation and some music will play while the display contracts or expands. No, you cannot change the music that plays while the screen is adjusting.
That's pretty much the story for this product. As for why it might be practical, Lenovo has a bunch of possible use cases, like any concept device. The taller display is great for documents and such, but also, who hasn't wished their laptop display was bigger from time to time?
As far as specs go, it uses Intel's new Arrow Lake processors, up to a Core Ultra 7, and it comes with up to 32GB LPDDR5x memory and up to a 1TB SSD. It weighs in at 3.73 pounds, which isn't particularly light for a laptop, but certainly isn't surprising given the hardware and what it can do.
As you may have guessed from the fact that there are configuration options, you can actually buy this thing, unlike other concept projects that companies like to announce. It's coming in Q1, starting at $3,499.
Lenovo does this a lot, particularly with the ThinkBook Plus brand. Last year's ThinkBook Plus was a laptop with a detachable display that became an Android tablet, with an Intel processor in the base and a Qualcomm processor in the lid. Before that, Lenovo has had models with a second display on the keyboard deck, or an E Ink display in the lid. And you can always buy them, if your wallet will allow it.
