Lenovo flexes at IFA 2022 with folding laptop, monitor glasses, and more

Lenovo usually sprinkles IFA with a generous coating of quirky, and this year’s lineup is no exception. The company announced several devices at IFA 2022, headlined by the revised Lenovo X1 Fold.

A more refined foldable laptop

The Lenovo X1 Fold showed that foldable designs weren’t only the domain of smartphones, as the veteran PC maker offered what was essentially a laptop with a foldable screen. You essentially got a 13.3-inch portable monitor, while folding it in half allows for a laptop-like form factor when paired with an included Bluetooth keyboard.

The Lenovo X1 Fold 2022 can certainly draw a few parallels to the Galaxy Z Fold 2. Much like Samsung, Lenovo has refined the new device and made a few changes in response to user feedback.

For one, the most notable change is that you now have a 16.3-inch foldable display rather than the original’s 13.3-inch size. So you’ve got a bigger screen when folded out and a larger, 12-inch display when using the device in laptop mode. However, the foldable is also 25% thinner than before at 17.4mm.

Lenovo has also substantially trimmed the bezels compared to the original model. However, it’s not quite as transformative as the transition from the Galaxy Fold’s cover display to the Galaxy Z Fold 2’s screen.

First impressions: Hands-on with the Lenovo X1 Fold 2022

Otherwise, the Lenovo X1 Fold 2022 is equipped with a 12th generation Intel vPro Core i5 or i7 processor (with Intel Xe graphics), up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 1TB SSD.

Interestingly, the PC maker ships with a 48Wh battery, but it’s also offering an optional 16Wh battery that fits into the other half of the device. This is a stark contrast to foldable smartphones, which tend to provide dual battery designs as the default (a battery in each half) rather than making the second battery an optional extra.

Other notable specs include three USB-C ports (two Thunderbolt 4), Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi 6E, three Dolby Atmos speakers, a fingerprint reader on the Bluetooth keyboard, and a MIL-STD 810H rating for durability.

Expect to pay $2,499 for the ThinkPad X1 Fold 2022 — the same as the original device but $1,000 less than Asus’ foldable alternative. However, you’ll be in for quite the wait as the new device is only going on sale from November 2022.

Lenovo’s wearable monitor glasses

To accompany its foldable laptop, Lenovo also unveiled its T1 Glasses. Although these will probably remind you of AR glasses, they are in fact a portable pair of virtual monitors that you wear on the bridge of your nose. So, what’s the point? For all intents and purposes, you can view content, play games, and more, but you’ll need a smartphone or PC tethered to it to power the experience.

If you find this concept appealing, you’ll be able to grab a pair from 2023 in western markets, with Lenovo targeting a price of around $500.

Lenovo P11 Tab series

Lenovo also rolled out a new tablet duo — the second-generation Tab P11 and Tab P11 Pro. Both are touted as solid multimedia slates.

The Tab P11 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G99, with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Its party piece is an 11.5-inch 2,000 x 1,200 LCD with a 7,700mAh battery and quad speakers. The Tab P11 Pro packs an 8,200mAh battery which powers a MediaTek Kompanio 1300T, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of internal storage. There’s a smaller 11.2-inch screen at play, but it features a much denser OLED panel at 2,560 x 1,536 resolution.

Both tablets come with Android 12 and should see at least two Android version upgrades in the future. Pricing starts at $249 for the Tab P11, with availability kicking off later this month. You’ll need $399 for the Pro model, but you have until January 2023 to gather your pennies.

See also: The best Android tablets money can buy

IdeaPad 5i Chromebook

Finally, there’s a new Chromebook in the offing as well. The IdeaPad 5i comes with a 16-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 12th-generation Intel Core i3 chipsets, and a battery rated for up to 12 hours. Pricing starts at €549 (~$550). US pricing and availability details have yet to be confirmed.