If you’re a fan of Windows laptops but are bored of the same old plain designs of modern portable PCs then you may be hoping that the latest proof of concept from Chinese computer giant Lenovo will one day come to store shelves. At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Lenovo unveiled a laptop that has a fully transparent design, letting you see through the screen to what’s behind it but also with the ability to run full Windows 11.
The futuristic laptop, which looks like something out of a sci-fi film, is called the Lenovo ThinkBook Transparent Display Laptop Concept – a forward-thinking take on the classic ThinkBook line of laptops that are still popular with business people. You can spot them in offices and on trains and planes thanks to their usually-black design with the red nubbin at the centre of the keyboard to control the mouse pointer with.
But this concept laptop, which will not go on sale, is in another galaxy of design. Both the 17.3-inch Micro-LED display and keyboard base are transparent so you can see right through them. But the display can still beam up images and apps by running Windows 11.
Express.co.uk was at Mobile World Congress to see the transparent tech, which Lenovo told us was at least two years in the making. It’s very impressive, but the unit is quite bulky and the screen itself is not touch sensitive like many regular laptops. But the keyboard lights up on the transparent bottom panel when needed and then cleverly disappears to allow you to draw onto it with a stylus to create art or images on the top screen.
“The Lenovo ThinkBook Transparent Display Laptop Concept is not only a proof of concept but showcases a futuristic perspective on AI PCs, blending digital and physical environments that can enhance user experiences in ways never imagined,” Lenovo said in a press release.
It added that “the transparent screen opens up new avenues of work collaboration and efficiency by enabling the interaction with physical objects and overlaying digital information to create unique user generated content.”
Lenovo suggests artists would want to use the drawing tablet layer to create artworks while looking through the display at the object they are drawing, rather than looking over the top or around the screen – it would be a way to trace an object into digital art. We think that’s a bit of a stretch, plus the display isn’t actually as good as a normal screen on a decent high end laptop.
Often tech companies like to produce concept devices to show off what they are capable of, even if the products won’t ever be sold in shops. However a few years ago, folding displays were only concepts at trade shows, and now you can walk into a shop and buy a folding smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 or OnePlus Open – so sometimes this unlikely tech can become a reality.
Lenovo also showed off new laptops you will actually be able to buy, including new models in its popular ThinkBook and ThinkPad lines.
