Lenovo tries out new codecs – Gadget

The most startling sight in Las Vegas throughout CES 2026 final week could be an instance of the previous cliche. “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”. But, with luck, the prototypes of two “rollable” laptops will grow to be actuality earlier than lengthy.

Lenovo’s proofs of idea at CES shifted consideration away from efficiency benchmarks and again to the bodily form of non-public computing. While processor upgrades and AI options dominated a lot of the present, Lenovo’ drew curiosity for a distinct motive: laptops that change their measurement while you’re utilizing them.

Two rollable ideas led that dialog. Each addressed the long-standing trade-off between portability and display area from a distinct angle, with out asking customers to hold a bigger machine.

The ThinkPad Rollable XD Concept introduced the extra stunning of the 2 concepts. In its closed state, it seems like a standard 13.3-inch laptop computer. When activated, the display extends vertically from inside the chassis, rising the usable show space to shut to 16 inches. The enlargement occurs easily, with out hinges or seen folds, and retracts simply as simply, with a faucet on the high of the display chassis.

Lenovo described it as one of many first out-folding laptops with each a world-facing show and an increasing user-facing display. In sensible phrases, that permits the machine to help shared viewing whereas nonetheless giving the first consumer further vertical area for paperwork, code or design work.

The design builds on Lenovo’s earlier experiments, together with the ThinkPad X1 Fold and the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable AI laptop computer. In the Rollable XD, the corporate claims greater than 50% further display space with out rising the footprint of the machine. That determine is startling in a class the place measurement and weight nonetheless decide every day usability.

Part of the enchantment lay within the mechanism itself. The display is protected by a clear Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 cowl that exposes the inner elements answerable for the rolling motion. It is an uncommon alternative, and one which indicators the machine’s standing as an idea moderately than a near-term product.

Interaction depends on contact gestures and voice enter. Lenovo demonstrated a Swipe to X gesture that permits customers to launch purposes or change modes by dragging a finger throughout the show. These options counsel how the machine may help hybrid work or shared environments, though Lenovo averted positioning it as a completed resolution.

The Legion Pro Rollable Concept utilized the identical thought to a really completely different viewers. Instead of extending vertically, its show unrolls horizontally from each side, widening the display to go well with gaming codecs that favour broader facet ratios. The mechanism makes use of a dual-motor, tension-based system designed to maintain the show steady because it expands.

Gaming laptops have lengthy struggled to stability portability with immersion. Lenovo’s idea proposed a approach to supply a wider show when area permits, whereas preserving the machine compact sufficient to journey. As with the ThinkPad, the emphasis was on demonstrating what is feasible moderately than saying a product.

Beyond laptops, Lenovo’s ideas explored how computing may unfold throughout a number of gadgets. Project Kubit, described as a Personal AI Hub Concept, was introduced as a private edge cloud designed to take a seat on the centre of a consumer’s ecosystem. Behind a clear contact display sit two ThinkStation PGX compact AI workstations powered by Nvidia Grace Blackwell Superchips.

The thought is to centralise processing for AI-enabled purposes used throughout PCs, smartphones, wearables and smart-home gadgets. Lenovo positioned the hub as touch- and voice-controlled, amassing information throughout platforms to help private analytics and AI purposes. As with the rollables, it was framed as an exploration moderately than a product announcement.

Wearables shaped one other strand of Lenovo’s considering. The Lenovo AI Glasses Concept confirmed how light-weight sensible glasses may act as an interface to present gadgets. Wirelessly tethered to a smartphone or PC, the glasses help hands-free calling, music playback and a teleprompter perform aimed toward shows and talking engagements.

Weighing 45g, the glasses are designed for prolonged put on, with Lenovo claiming as much as eight hours of use. Features comparable to stay translation and picture recognition rely upon processing from paired gadgets, reinforcing the concept the glasses perform as an entry level moderately than a standalone laptop.

Displays additionally obtained consideration. The Lenovo Smart Sense Display Concept reimagines the monitor as a hub that connects wirelessly to a number of gadgets, together with telephones, laptops and tablets. The 27-inch UHD show helps content material casting, multi-screen use and interplay by way of contact or voice instructions.

A associated personalised show idea centered on consumer consolation, adjusting brightness and color temperature based on profiles, time of day and site. Lenovo advised it may reply to posture and eye fatigue throughout prolonged classes, adapting show settings in actual time.

Even equipment grew to become websites of experimentation. The Lenovo Adaptable Keyboard Concept permits customers to regulate keystroke drive for various duties, whereas the Lenovo Self-Charging Kit Concept pairs a keyboard and mouse powered by indoor mild, working at illumination ranges as little as 50 lux.

Lenovo’s CES 2026 ideas centered consideration again on the bodily type of private computing. The rollable laptops particularly questioned the belief that portability and display measurement are mounted compromises. By altering how shows occupy area, Lenovo explored options to easily making gadgets thinner or quicker.

None of the ideas got here with timelines or commitments. That mirrored the function CES nonetheless performs as a testing floor, the place producers expose concepts earlier than deciding which of them justify the price and complexity of manufacturing.

For now, the prototypes stayed in Las Vegas. The questions they raised about how laptops may change didn’t.