Lenovo’s radical ThinkPad X1 Fold nabs a much larger OLED screen

Today, Lenovo unveiled the latest version of the ThinkPad X1 Fold. Unlike previous iterations of the device[1], this model has a much bigger screen at 16.3-inches. According to the laptop manufacturer, it’s about 22 percent larger.

That’s a good size for productivity tasks, as it makes scrolling through multiple documents much easier. It’s also a key upgrade for a radical device like this. Essentially, the ThinkPad X1 Fold is a foldable PC with no keyboard (that’s an additional purchase).

It’s all display, with the bottom half converting to a touchscreen keyboard when used in laptop mode. The frame is made of lightweight aluminum and the back cover consists of recycled woven fabric. For a PC that folds in half and weighs just under three pounds, it seems surprisingly rugged and durable given the materials it’s comprised of.

In fact, the laptop itself weighs a little under three pounds, making it a capable travel companion. But let’s fast forward to the more important part: the guts.

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The Fold features up to an Intel Core i7 processor, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSD storage. That’s ferocious power for a variety of tasks such as photo editing, working on spreadsheets, browsing the web, and so on.

It’ll also come with Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics and a 48 watt-hour battery. While the specs are no doubt important, the real star of the show is the OLED screen. It’s all screen, baby.

In its unfolded state, the display measures 16.3-inches, looking more like an elongated tablet than anything. It measures 12-inches when folded and sits like a traditional clamshell laptop. It has a resolution of 2024×2560 and is touch-enabled.

In other words, this is a fantastic screen for either content creation or productivity work. The ThinkPad X1 Fold has a starting price of £2,499 and will become available in November 2022. There’s a full-sized backlit keyboard with a large haptic touchpad that can magnetically connect to the lower portion of the Fold.

However, this peripheral is an optional purchase.

Editor’s note: This article originally published on August 31, 2022, but was updated with a video of our hands-on impressions.

References

  1. ^ previous iterations of the device (www.pcworld.com)