Future is now: Lenovo shows a rollable phone and laptop at MWC

Lenovo introduced one of the headliners of the Mobile World Congress 2023, and it looks like a "coin flip" technology that could either shape the future or just goes to waste. We are now used to foldable smartphones, and find it pretty normal, but the company headlined the event with its newest "rollable laptop," and "rollable smartphone."

Credit: The Verge

Foldable phones are welcomed pretty "normally" in today's technological world. They were first introduced a couple years ago, and people are now used to seeing them. Moreover, LG also introduced its foldable TV a while ago, which is also off the table regarding technological innovations. However, Lenovo is onto something new. The company introduced its first-ever rollable laptop at MWC 2023. Lenovo has also teased its first "rollable smartphone" at the event under the Motorola banner, its subsidiary smartphone brand.

According to The Verge's Jon Porter, Lenovo's rollable laptop prototype was placed near regular laptops, and at first glance, nobody really realized the impressive technology behind it. It looks like any other ThinkPad, but once the "show begins," you understand its technology is very different compared to other laptop models. There is a small switch on the right side of the chassis, and once you turn it on, the screen starts to roll. It turns into an almost-square 15.3-inch display with an 8:9 aspect ratio. Normally, it comes with a regular 12.7-inch display with a 4:3 aspect ratio.

It has a 2024x1604 resolution, and once the rolling begins, it increases up to 2024x2368. "Lenovo thinks such a tall display could be helpful for both office workers and creative professionals alike, offering everything from more lines of code to more cells in a spreadsheet," Porter says. The concept is very similar to LG's rollable TV model.

Credit: The Verge

Regarding specifications, Lenovo didn't provide information regarding the battery life and weight. However, the company officials said that "it is aiming to get 20,000 to 30,000 rolls." Moreover, Porter wasn't allowed to hold the laptop in his hands.

Unfortunately, Lenovo's new concept design is nowhere near hitting the shelves soon. The prototype might seem promising, but the company has to work on multiple aspects to make it ready for consumer use. For now, it is only a "show off" that Lenovo revealed at Mobile World Congress 2023.

The second prototype Lenovo showcased at the event was the rollable smartphone. However, it was revealed under the Motorola banner. Multiple companies showed improvement signals regrind rollable smartphones in the past, but none have hit the shelves yet. It is known that Lenovo is one of the few companies with a "foldable laptop," which makes the rollable one possible to hit the shelves soon.

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