Rollable OLEDs: Lenovo shows notebook concepts with unusual displays
Lenovo experiments with rollable OLEDs for upcoming notebooks: prototypes with side or upward extending displays were shown at CES.
Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable.
(Image: Florian MĂĽssig / heise medien)
Lenovo has already been selling a notebook with a rollable OLED screen since last fall with the ThinkBook Plus Gen6. While this design will not be continued with the newly introduced ThinkBook Plus Gen7, Lenovo's engineers are continuing to work on notebooks with rollable or extendable displays. At CES, the manufacturer showed two notebook prototypes that approach the topic from different perspectives.
Both the ThinkPad Rollable (business notebook) and the Legion Pro Rollable (gaming notebook) have in common that Lenovo houses the special OLED panel and its associated mechanics in the lid. This was different with the ThinkBook Plus: there the technology was hidden in the chassis, which makes its development and manufacturing complex and expensive. With the new designs, on the other hand, the chassis can be conventional, so that one and the same notebook could be equipped with a normal lid or with a rollable OLED. This reduces development costs.
ThinkPad Rollable
In the ThinkPad Rollable, the flexible OLED runs over the upper edge of the lid, where it is protected by a curved piece of Gorilla Glass. Part of the OLED is always visible on the outside of the lid, so you can see status information even when the lid is closed. When the screen extends upwards, this part then rolls over a roller to the inside and supplements the Windows desktop, providing more screen height than the usual 14 inches for working on large documents.
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The status display on the outside does not disappear because more screen area is hidden on the outside of the lid, which then moves upwards and is only controlled in this mode. The mechanics are visible in the extended state through the Gorilla Glass pane on the outside.
(Image:Â Florian MĂĽssig / heise medien)
Legion Pro Rollable
The Legion Pro gaming notebook also features a flexible OLED panel in the lid. In normal operation, it has a diagonal of 16 inches, but with extendable areas on both sides, the display area can be enlarged from the pre-programmed intermediate step of 21.5 inches to up to 24 inches – both, of course, in extreme widescreen formats.
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Such formats are popular with gamers as they increase the field of view, which helps with immersion and enemy detection. When transported, however, the Legion Pro Rollable does not take up more space than other 16-inch models. The user group is also unlikely to be deterred by the additional weight and the very thick lid, as gaming notebooks are generally neither light nor slim.
(Image:Â Florian MĂĽssig / heise medien)
Lenovo did not rule out the possibility that the two concept devices could one day be launched as actual products. However, this is not currently planned.
heise medien is an official media partner of CES 2026.
(mue)
