(electronic melody)
- Last year Lenovo showed us a prototype
of a totally new type of PC.
A full on Windows 10 computer with a foldable OLED display.
Now it's CES 2020,
the company is telling us what the final shipping version
of that product,
it's called the ThinkPad X1 Fold.
So the hardware hasn't changed that much from before,
there's still a 13-inch OLED screen that folds,
there's still a wireless keyboard
that come with the whole package,
and it still looks kinda like a leather-bound book
when you fold it up.
What has changed,
is Lenovo's work on the software side of things.
Now the X1 Fold runs regular Windows 10
which really isn't designed
for these kinds of foldable screens.
So Lenovo has had to
give you the ability to, for example,
pin certain apps on different sides of the screen,
and there's a little icon in the taskbar
that you can click to do this.
If you use the device in portrait mode when it's unfolded
you can click the same icon and that gives you the option to
bring up an on-screen keyboard,
and then if you fold the laptop on top of each other
it's like you have a mini laptop
with a touchscreen keyboard.
Or you can use the wireless-Bluetooth keyboard,
put it on top of the onscreen keyboard
and then you have a miniature laptop
with little keys.
Alternatively you can unfold the laptop to its full screen,
and use the kickstand on the back,
and use the keyboard wirelessly.
There's also a separate stand
that'll ship a little bit later,
that holds the monitor up like an easel,
and you can use the Bluetooth keyboard below it.
Lenovo is also planning a version of the device
runs Windows 10X
which might actually be a better fit.
That's the version of Windows that Microsoft is working on,
and it's designed specifically for dual-screen devices,
and foldable devices.
Microsoft has it's own Surface Neo coming up this year
which runs Windows 10X.
So that might be a better fit for the X1 Fold.
The only problem is
it's not going to ship until after the Windows 10 version.
So the X1 Fold screen is being made by LG Display.
The two companies say they've been working on this product
for more than four years together,
and Lenovo is really confident
about the product's durability in particular.
They spent a lot of time
showing us all the complicated components
that go into the hinge design.
Obviously there have been some pretty high profile failures
in this product category already,
so there's a reason to be skeptical,
but you know the company is confident in its design.
There's some neat touches too,
there's a slight crease in the display
when you fold it open,
but it's not super visible,
and although there's a gap when you fold it together,
between the two sections of the screen
that actually gets filled up by the keyboard
which is kind of a nice touch.
In terms of specs,
the X1 Fold is using a new type of processor from Intel,
but we can't go into detail on yet.
Otherwise there's 8 gigabytes of RAM,
up to a terabyte of SSD storage,
and Lenovo is claiming up to 11 hours of battery life.
So overall this is looking like a pretty cool,
pretty experimental device,
but (laughs) the problem with experimental tech products
is that companies charge money for them,
and this one is gonna cost quite a lot.
Lenovo is shipping it in the middle of this year
for around $2,500.
Which is a lot of money for any kind of laptop, or tablet,
especially one that you know,
has potential questions about durability
and so on surrounding it.
That said, we are super looking forward
to spending a lot more time with it,
and hopefully we should be able to do so
towards the middle of the year.
So yeah, this is just one of many weird and wacky
PC concepts we're gonna see this week.
So stayed tuned to the The Verge's YouTube channel
all throughout CES 2020,
and subscribe to us.
That's youtube.com/theverge