This foldable laptop turns into a portable gaming device – and I need one in my life
Lenovo unveiled its new devices ahead of MWC in Barcelona, along with some smart ideas we’d like to see brought to market. While its core business is in the business user, its consumer Yoga and Legion lines push the limits of laptop design.
The most impressive model announced, however, is the Legion Go Fold the idea. This 11.6-inch foldable tablet comes with a keyboard and a work case. You can also attach the Legion game controller to the rails on the sides of the screen to use it as a giant 11.6-inch handheld.
Although it’s just a proof of concept, as Lenovo calls it, this model feels like it could easily be made into a consumer product and is something that could appeal to a wider audience. We’ve seen growing interest in both the portable gaming console market and the foldable tablet market, so combining the two feels like a winner.
(Image credit: Future)
Working in 3D or with AI
Another interesting concept is Yoga Book Pro 3D. This includes two 16-inch 3.2k tandem OLED displays with a high-resolution screen that enables glasses-free 3D with direct backlighting and eye tracking. The device supports hand gestures to rotate and zoom, and has magnetic pads that, when pressed on the screen, activate contextual buttons for things like color, brightness and view adjustment.
On the slightly newer side is Lenovo’s AI Workmate. This is an AI powered assistant that looks like an Anglepoise lamp, equipped with a digital display ‘face’ and a built-in projector. The demo showed an AI assistant creating a slideshow presentation and displaying it on a table and then repositioning it to display it on the wall. With a built-in camera, it can also help with signing documents – projecting an image of the document on the desk, capturing your signature and merging it, all in seconds.
(Image credit: Future)
I AI co-worker provided with a character, similar to Lenovo’s Tico assistant, which attaches to the top of the ThinkBook using the MagicBay connection. It has two large animated eyes on the screen and various animations such as hand to ear as it listens or sips coffee as it waits for you to give it further commands.
Other concepts included i AI Work Companion that is a booth with a screen and a Modular ThinkBook with a second 14-inch screen in the lid that can be detached to act as a second portable screen or switched with the keyboard to create a dual screen display. It also has replacement ports to allow you to move or replace connections.
(Image credit: Future)
Also, some models you can actually buy
There were also real products. New Legion Tab Gen 5 it’s an 8.8-inch tablet with a Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 and a bigger battery capacity than before – it’s now closer to 9000mAh than the 6000mAh in the previous generation. I Yoga Slim 7i 14 again Yoga 9i 2-in-1 updated with Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors and the 9i has updated pen support for AES 3.0 and Yoga Pen 2.
There is also a new IdeaPad Slim 5i Ultra clamshell laptop and the IdeaTab Pro Gen 2 in an interesting ‘jelly mint’ color. These are intended for students or the budget conscious.
