Here's Why Lenovo's Thinkpad X1 Foldable Tablet May Have Really Killed The Laptop For Me

It might be the ultimate notebook computer.

- Gordon Mah Ung

We get it. You’ve already decided that folding screen devices are a Mach 3 flame-out at 85,069 feet. But hear us out, because Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 foldable prototype (it has no official name yet) just might have you thinking that you’ll never want to buy another laptop again. Seriously.

The ThinkPad X1 foldable prototype concept is simple: Take a 13.3-inch, Intel-based, full-service Windows OS–-running PC/tablet/device and fold it in half, with a diagonal corner-to-corner measurement of about 10 inches. At about an inch thick, it has the feel of a medium-sized journal.

If you’re on the train or plane, you can simply open it and do your pleasure reading or browsing. While Lenovo didn’t disclose the weight, it felt close to or lighter than Apple’s iPad Pro 13, which comes in at 1.6 pounds.

Obviously, there is pen support as well. Lenovo said its folding tablet features a Wacom-enabled screen. You can also use it as a traditional clamshell and jot down notes while watching a presentation.

If you’re not into the pen thing, you can move to a mode that places a virtual keyboard for “touch typing.” While we’re not into virtual keyboards for touch typing, we do acknowledge some people, somewhere, actually like them.

If you’re still thinking this is just more highfalutin’ concept stuff that won’t have you ditching your Dell XPS 13 or HP Spectre x360 13 anytime soon, there is one more mode that we think might convince you: