Lenovo has created a laptop with a display that can expand upwards, giving the user more screen real estate.
The company showed off the device during its Lenovo Tech World event on Tuesday, where the PC maker also debuted a smartphone that features its own expandable screen.
Lenovo created the products using rollable screen technology. The flexible OLED panels can be rolled up inside a smartphone or laptop like a scroll, and then unfurled to expand the screen.
Lenovo uploaded a video showing the effect in action. The rollable screen slides out, creating a much taller display. The company says this technology promises to make it easier to multitask on a laptop while keeping the device itself compact.
Lenovo’s smartphone can expand in the same way; in a demo, Lenovo Executive Vice President Luca Rossi showed how the product can slide out from a smaller, squarish screen to a longer, rectangular size.
“It doesn’t sacrifice screen size when you need it,” Rossi added. “And it can retract to a size smaller than any other premium smartphone.”
For now, Lenovo says the two devices are merely proofs of concept, making it unclear if the company will ever turn them into real products. The main challenges will be making the devices affordable and preventing the rollable screen technology from breaking down over time due to excessive use.
Last month, Samsung debuted a similar concept device in a tablet with a rollable screen that's capable of expanding the display from 13 to 17 inches. Intel also said it’s hoping the PC industry will explore using rollable screens in more products, but it expects the first such devices to come with premium price tags.