Lenovo continues to experiment with rollable-screen OLED laptops right here at CES 2026, and its newest Legion Pro idea laptop computer is bound to pique the curiosity of on-the-go avid gamers. Its 16-inch show matches properly within the Legion Pro 7i chassis it is constructed round. But open the laptop computer up, and its display expands sideways, in each instructions, to grow to be both a 21.5-inch “Tactical Mode” display, or an much more immersive ultra-wide 24-inch “Arena Mode” show. The present firmware has you hit Fn and the arrow left/proper keys to increase or retract the display. Hitting the keys twice skips the center mode and utterly extends or retracts the display.
The ultra-wide type issue has been in style amongst desktop avid gamers for years, however has been extraordinarily uncommon in gaming laptops attributable to measurement constraints. But Lenovo is attempting to make that a problem of the previous with the Legion Pro Rollable — or at the very least it’s going to if the corporate takes this idea additional and creates a retail model.
Of course, you may want some severe CPU and GPU energy to push these additional pixels. But the Legion Pro 7i that this idea is constructed round tops out with a cellular RTX 5090 and Intel’s Core Ultra CPUs. While I after all do not know the way a lot a completed model of this rollable idea will value, I’m certain there are fairly a number of avid gamers who would love to have the ability to carry round a 16-inch laptop computer that may ship a display as much as 24 inches diagonally.
Lenovo’s press launch positions the Legion Pro Rollable as a tool for esports opponents who can “carry small but train big” as they journey to and from occasions. And certain, I can see that, however I’m fairly certain there is a bigger market as properly for extra informal avid gamers and highway warriors who would love a screen-morphing moveable with a display that may get very massive once you want it, whereas rolling again to a 16-inch measurement so it may possibly slot in your backpack.
In a hands-on with the idea gadget, the display appeared very very similar to a product in growth. The bezels have been chunky and among the display edges did not line up proper. It works, however I did not get to attempt a sport on it. The most important factor Lenovo appears to want to do is to work on the strain mechanism to carry the display taught. They have this within the ThinkPad rollable idea (see under) with two motors and metal cables, in order that they know the way to do it. But within the Legion, the display seems to be a little bit wavy.
The pattern I attempted additionally made a fairly loud creaking noise, although Lenovo representatives informed me it was a quirk of the unit I attempted. I noticed others that did not have the identical subject.
The different factor that I could not actually inform was how a lot weight this may add. Probably not an enormous quantity, however the base laptop computer they used right here was already a strong and heavy system.
ThinkPad Rollable XD Concept
The ThinkPad Rollable XD is a more traditional vertical rollable concept that expands from a 13.3-inch screen to 16 inches. But rather than house the unseen parts of the screen in the base, this design has it wrapping around the top of the lid, giving you a dynamic “world-facing” display when the laptop is closed, or you haven’t expanded the primary screen.
Of course, the screen needs to be protected, and Lenovo worked with Corning on a dual-sided Gorilla Glass Victus 2 screen cover with a 180-degree bend that wraps around both sides. And while there are other ways to control the expanding screen mechanism (like using your voice), you can swipe on the top edge of the display to move it up or down. When it’s expanded, you can see the motor mechanism on the back. I like that the company left some of the complex engineering on display, though I doubt this kind of choice would make it to a final product.
Lenovo also touts AI features under the hood of the XD concept, like “live translation, voice assistant, multi-modal, and lid-controlled interactions.” But I think one of the most interesting things about the XD concept is that it’s a ThinkPad, unlike previous rollable concepts – and the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 that the company brought to market last year. Perhaps the switch to arguably the company’s flagship brand is an indication that the company sees a serious, productivity-focused future for the expandable screen tech it’s been dabbling with for a few years now.
At the very least, housing the whole screen and the sliding mechanism in the lid should make it easier to take screens like this and add them to more laptops. And as someone who has taken a portable monitor and a mechanical keyboard to CES in previous years, pairing an expandable screen with one of the best laptop keyboards available has me at least a little more interested than I was before.
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