Lenovo Unveils Solar Powered Laptop, Wild ThinkBook Flip With Expandable Display
Mobile World Congress (MWC) has officially begun in Barcelona, and with it comes the usual mix of product announcements and concept showcases. Falling into the latter category, Lenovo has a couple of cool gadgets on display, including a laptop that draws power from the sun (or other light sources) as well as a nifty ThinkBook design with a folding OLED display.
We have boots on the ground at MWC and were able to snap some photos of both concepts. Starting with the former, Lenovo's Yoga Solar PC aims to "bridge the gap between functionality and environmental awareness." Lenovo's messaging suggests that it's playing on the renewable energy angle for green-conscious buyers, though beyond that, there's some potential utility for a solar powered laptop.
The Yoga Solar PC comes outfitted wit ha solar panel on the lid. According to Lenovo, it has a 24% conversion rate, which it says is one of the highest in the industry. This is achieved by using "Back Contact Cell technology, which moves mounting brackets and gridlines to the back of the solar cells, maximizing the active absorption."
There's also a dynamic solar tracking system that constantly measures the solar panel's current and voltage, which then automatically adjusts the charger's settings for optimal energy savings and presumably longer battery life. According to Lenovo, the solar panels can generate power in low light conditions. By Lenovo's estimation, just 20 minutes of light absorption can provide up to a full hour of video playback.
A placard accompanying the model on display at MWC says the system comes equipped features a 14-inch OLED display powered by an Intel Core Ultra processor (unspecified), up to 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. Other specs include Wi-Fi 7 wireless connectivity, a 2-megapixel IR camera, three USB4 ports, and a 50.2Wh battery wrapped in a shell that measures 315.02mm by 315.99mm by 14.99mm.
It's not clear if the Yoga Solar PC concept will ever graduate into a shipping product, but we're hopeful it will.
We also spied Lenovo's "ThinkBook 'codename Flip' AI PC" concept in person at MWC. This one features an OLED display as well, but with an adaptive folding design that can support various modes similar to a 2-in-1 devices.
Instead of an actual 2-in-1, though, the Flip concept is compact 13-inch laptop. Like a Transformer, it can quickly change its design with a, outward folding OLED display that expands to 18.1 inches when full unraveled.
"This groundbreaking design enables professionals to seamlessly switch between five distinct modes, including Clamshell Mode for traditional laptop tasks, Vertical Mode for document review, Share Mode for dual-display collaboration, Tablet Mode for creative workflows, and Read Mode for distraction-free reading," Lenovo explains.
It's a bit reminiscent of Lenovo's ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable with a rollable display that we saw at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last month. The idea behind both types of expanding PCs is that more screen real estate is on tap, but without the usual bulk that would accompany a physically bigger laptop.
Beyond the display, Lenovo's Flip concept features an unspecified Core Ultra 7 processor, 32GB of LPDDR5X memory, a PCIe-based SSD (no word on capacity or speed ratings), Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, and a few other odds and ends.
Photos by Myriam Joire.
