The Screen That Grows: Hands-on With the Lenovo ThinkPad XD Rollable Concept

by Aaron Leong — Tuesday, January 06, 2026, 08:00 PM EDT

One of the wildest laptop concepts to debut at CES this year comes by way of Lenovo. While it's just a concept at the moment, the Lenovo ThinkPad Rollable XD already seems fairly refined and it incorporates a number of intriguing design elements that not only give the machine a distinctive look, but also make better use of all the screen real estate available on its rollable display, regardless of what configuration the laptop is in. When rolled up, part of the screen was obscured an unusable on Lenovo's previous-gen rollable laptop. That's not the case with the ThinkPad Rollable XD.

As you can see, the ThinkPad Rollable XD concept is quite radical, even for a rollable. In "normal" mode, it looks pretty much like any standard, compact 13.3-inch ThinkPad, perfect for travel and cramped airplane tray tables. However, with a simple swipe gesture, the flexible OLED panel unravels upward, expanding into a 16-inch vertical workspace, thus providing over 50% more screen real estate. When fully extended, the ThinkPad Rollable XD effectively transforms from a portable sub-notebook into a productivity powerhouse or a doom-scroller's dream machine.

xd back — *The Thinkpad Rollable XD's "world-facing display"*

Another thing that sets this Thinkpad apart from other rollable experiments is its outward rolling design. Rather than hiding the excess screen inside the chassis while in normal mode, the display rolls backward behind the lid under a piece of glass. Lenovo calls this a "world-facing display," envisioning it as a contextual hub that can show calendar notifications, AI assistant prompts, or even digital signage while the device is shut. For some added piece of mind, the panel is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (rather than the latest GG Armor or Ceramic 2, surprisingly).

As expected, AI is central to the Rollable XD’s identity. The device is designed to be contextually aware, utilizing the external display and sensors to interact with the user even when they aren't actively typing. Features like AI-powered live translation and voice-activated app launching allow the laptop to function as a smart assistant in meeting environments. The hardware supports multiple input methods, including voice and swipe gestures too, to control the expansion of the screen and the switching of modes.

While the Rollable XD remains a concept (beyond the display design and capabilities, Lenovo is still mum about deeper details like specs), Lenovo is typically more courageous than other laptop ODMs and has a history of bringing innovative concept designs to market.

Of course, questions regarding long-term durability, the practicality of the world-facing display, and the price premium for this kind of engineering will need to be answered. In reference to the latter, the current ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable starts at $3,500, so it's highly likely the Rollable XD will command a hefty premium if it is officially brought to market.