Lenovo’s Foldin a position Gaming Handheld Is Too Cool to Stay Only a Concept

Gaming handhelds are in a little bit of a tough spot proper now. The Nintendo Switch 2 prices considerably greater than its predecessor, the Steam Deck is out of inventory in most areas, and the Xbox handheld is susceptible to bugs. Plus, they’re all enormous.

Lenovo has been one of many higher corporations on this area of late, releasing two of my favourite gaming handhelds operating, however the firm apparently is not accomplished with handhelds but. At Mobile World Congress, Lenovo confirmed off its latest idea, the modular Legion Go Fold handheld, a tool that tries to resolve just about each downside in gaming handhelds by one neat trick: It’s additionally a foldable pill.

Various methods to make use of the Lenovo Legion Go Fold Concept
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

The system is basically a pill with an 11.6-inch OLED display that may fold in half, however it comes with two controller halves that may connect to it in quite a lot of methods. While you should utilize the total display horizontally in case you like, with one controller half on both aspect, you may as well orient the pill vertically for a “dual-screen” expertise. Or, fold that vertical orientation over itself for a extra compact 7.7-inch display. There’s additionally a stand and Bluetooth keyboard you should utilize to show the pill right into a pseudo laptop computer, and you may even join the controller halves to a connector piece to show it right into a standalone controller that does not must be connected to the pill. I attempted all of those configurations, they usually principally felt snug, though I’ll admit the “dual-screen” mode did really feel a bit high heavy on the early prototype I examined.

Lenovo’s “FPS Mode” even makes a return, so you possibly can take the right-hand controller piece and slot it right into a particular dock to make use of it like a mouse. Essentially, this factor can play in just about any orientation or type issue you possibly can consider, that means you will not want to purchase a number of handhelds for various use circumstances anymore. The pill is Windows-based, too, promising extra app compatibility than Android. And one of many controller halves even has its personal tiny OLED display, for maintaining a tally of vital efficiency stats.

The catch? Like a variety of Lenovo’s extra attention-grabbing units, the Legion Go Fold is only a idea for now. If you need to see it come to fruition, you may should make your voice heard with an e mail or social submit—Lenovo has a historical past of constructing good on its ideas, so that you by no means know if the corporate is simply testing the waters to gauge curiosity.

Unfortunately, as a result of it is a idea, there isn’t any phrase on what the Legion Go Fold may cost a little, though I do know the prototype I noticed was decked out with an Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. Based on Lenovo’s different gaming handhelds, I’d should guess this is able to begin for at the very least $600, and will go as excessive as $1,100, which is clearly pricier than the Switch 2 or Steam Deck, however is perhaps value it for all this system can do.

Lenovo additionally confirmed off a Framework competitor

ThinkPad Modular AI PC Concept
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

The Legion Go Fold is the clear standout amongst Lenovo’s MWC lineup, however there are a number of different noteworthy units value calling out.

Alongside iterations on current laptops and client tablets that will likely be making their method to market later this 12 months, Lenovo additionally confirmed off the AssumeBook Modular AI PC idea, which reads like the corporate’s strategy to the Framework Laptop. This system looks as if a traditional laptop computer at first, however you possibly can swap out the keyboard for a second show if you would like. You can then use that show for contact enter, or proceed to make use of the keyboard you simply eliminated wirelessly. There’s additionally an built-in kickstand, so you possibly can prop up the second show to grow to be an exterior monitor as an alternative, and slot the second show into the laptop computer lid to make use of the system like a pill whereas it is closed.

So far, none of that’s particularly Framework-y, however the kicker is that this idea’s ports are modular, so you possibly can combine and match what number of USB or ethernet connections you’ve gotten. That’s one thing we’ve not actually seen from any firm aside from Framework, so it appeared like Lenovo determined to see that laptop computer’s wager after which increase it.

Concepts for Lenovo AI Workmate (left), Lenovo AI Work Companion (heart), Yoga Wireless Webcam (proper)
Credit: Lenovo

The Lenovo Workmate is an odd AI system

In the enterprise area, there’s the Lenovo AI Workmate, an idea that principally attaches an AI chatbot to an animated touchscreen and places it on an articulating robotic arm. It’s supposed to have the ability to do common pc issues, like scan paperwork and even create PowerPoints, however wanting on the factor, I feel the concept is to make you greet your new robotic overlords with a smile.

Also, whereas I did not get to see them, Lenovo additionally confirmed off ideas for the AI Work Companion, which focuses extra on scheduling and seem like a retro alarm clock, and the Yoga Wireless Webcam, which might stream 4K video to your pc from a distance.

Lenovo Yoga Book Pro 3D Concept
Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt

Finally, the corporate confirmed off a glasses-free 3D laptop computer idea, referred to as the Yoga Book Pro 3D. Devices like these have grow to be frequent amongst creatives up to now few years, however what units this one aside is that it comes with magnetic pucks you possibly can place on it to summon sure instruments in your enhancing packages.

Again, these ideas aren’t assured to return to market, however they definitely carry some much-needed oddball vitality to the desk at a time when different massive corporations are sticking with tried-and-true designs. Here’s hoping the RAM disaster would not maintain them within the lab longer than obligatory.