When Lenovo showed off its transparent laptop at MWC 2024 earlier this year, we were all taken aback. We were just getting over that privacy nightmare, and now Lenovo is showing off a new laptop concept at IFA 2024 that can transform on demand.
Additionally, this laptop can track your movements to ensure that the screen is always facing you. What’s going on here? How exactly does it work? All these questions were on my mind, so I dove a little deeper into the new Lenovo Auto Twist AI PC. Here’s everything you need to know!
The sportiest laptop on the market
It turns out that, true to its nickname, the Lenovo Auto Twist AI uses AI to track your facial movements using a motorized hinge. The point is that the screen is always facing you, no matter where you are in the room. So I guess I don’t need to carry my laptop around the room during video calls anymore.
So, yes, wherever you are, the laptop will turn its head to face you. Honestly, I couldn’t help but be This is reminiscent of the classic scene from The Exorcist where a possessed Regan spins her head 360 degrees. Ah, one of the best horror movie sequences of all time. Very scary though.
Image courtesy of Lenovo
Just when I thought it rotating hinge mechanism Lenovo has reborn the concept of the laptop. Many laptops these days have a 360-degree hinge that folds all the way back, with the keyboard becoming the base of the laptop. This is probably why I’m not as fond of 2-in-1 laptops anymore.
However, with the Lenovo Auto Twist AI PC concept, they bring a rotating hinge mechanism that allows you to simply rotate the screen 360 degrees and place it flat on the keyboard instead.
Additionally, you can rotate the laptop screen in any direction, which is a nice little extra. However, note that this is not a detachable screen.
Hi Twist, Transform yourself!
Now comes the interesting part. On top of all this, the Lenovo AI laptop can also use voice commands to switch to tablet mode or laptop mode. Lenovo shows how these voice commands work in an X article, stating:
It’s like a helping hand, but way cooler. Introducing the Lenovo Auto Twist AI PC, a proof-of-concept device designed to move with you.
Saying “Hey Twist, open the lid” instantly gets the laptop to do so. Thanks to Android Authority’s C. Scott Brown, I was able to get a clearer idea of how the other voice commands work. Scott notes that there are three other voice commands that the Lenovo Auto Twist AI responds to.
By saying “Hey Twist, close the lid,” you can easily ask the laptop to perform this action without putting your finger on it. Additionally, you can also say “Hey Twist, tablet mode” or “Hey Twist, laptop mode” to have it automatically transform. While it doesn’t do the voice of Optimus Prime, it’s still pretty cool.
Cool, but is it really useful?
When The Verge asked Lenovo’s chief communications officer Jeff Witt what the laptop was for, he had this to say: “We’re still in the experimentation phase. A lot of these concepts won’t make it to market, but you may see elements of them in the future. It has face tracking; it’s basically video conferencing in a laptop. There’s a lot of potential for accessibility.”
And I agree with Witt to some extent. We are entering an uncharted era of AI miracles, and while I don’t understand the ultimate utility of a laptop like this, I’m sure it won’t go to waste. For people with physical disabilities, this could be a game changer.
Additionally, we are already making progress in the field of eye and hand tracking. These combined technologies could make a big difference, in my opinion. However, such a conceptual laptop has to take into account many elements to justify its commercial existence.
What do you think of the Lenovo Auto Twist AI? Let us know in the comments below!