CES 2026: Lenovo’s New ‘AI Frame’ Gaming Monitor May Really Simply Be Dishonest

It’s straightforward to take this without any consideration, however not everybody is ready to instantly have a look at a capturing or technique recreation and discover the reticle or map. Gaming UIs can get difficult, and for less-seasoned avid gamers, they are often fairly intimidating, too. Lenovo’s new idea “AI Frame” monitor, proven off at CES 2026, goals to make some video games a bit extra approachable, though consultants may think about it dishonest.

Hardware-wise, it is a regular 21:9 ultrawide gaming monitor, however it’s not truly meant for use like that. Instead, you play your recreation in a left-justified 16:9 rectangle that takes up a lot of the display, and within the remaining area, the AI will routinely zoom in on a part of your gameplay and present a blown-up model of it. For occasion, it would present you a zoomed-in map in a MOBA, so you do not have to take a look at the tiny mini-map in your major gameplay to know the place you or your staff are. Or, it would zoom in in your reticle in a shooter, letting you higher see your targets. There’s even sufficient area left over so that you can pull up an web browser and lookup some assist.

It labored fairly properly for me in-person. Again, it does not truly generate any visuals, however as a substitute simply blows up an important components of your recreation display so you may extra simply look at them or see them in additional element. That does imply decision can undergo a bit of, however that is what your major gameplay display is for. For getting throughout info, it is a good choice.

Plus, whereas some video games will routinely know what to zoom in on, there’s additionally a generic zoom mode that may simply blow up no matter your mouse is hovering over, so it might probably work with any content material. The AI Frame is being pitched for video games, however you may additionally use it like a digital magnifying glass on an article in your browser, for example.

The catch? It’s possibly not precisely “fair” to play this manner. While an even bigger map in a MOBA may simply prevent some eyestrain, an AI-assisted zoom on a capturing reticle mainly lets anybody act like a sniper, no matter what character you are taking part in or gun you might have outfitted. For me, characters within the distance that have been mainly ants turned instantly seen on the AI Frame, which made gunfights a lot simpler to deal with.

I suppose we’ll cross that bridge once we come to it. The AI Frame is only a proof-of-concept for now, so there isn’t any onerous specs sheet or pricing or launch date as of but. But if this does ever truly make it to market, Lenovo may need to take care of firms like Valve. The developer has banned similar “this is arguably cheating” peripherals from its video games earlier than, and the AI Frame might be the following battlefront in an ongoing conflict between peripheral makers (who wish to promote you on the concept shopping for their merchandise could make you a greater participant) and builders (who, at the very least theoretically, need all of their gamers to be on a good taking part in subject).