Foldable PCs, on the other hand, are still treading water.
TheThinkPad X1 Foldfirst appeared in 2020 with its surprisingly dim 13-inch OLED screen.
Much has changed in four years since we first glimpsed the rough-edged, ambitious X1 Fold.
Unfolded, the Lenovo ThinkBook X1 Fold 16 sports a nice, vibrant OLED screen, but its keyboard leaves a lot to be desired.Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Instead, we have a 16-inch pseudo-desktop that can fold into a 12-inch, though heavy, book-like product.
But at its price, its more novelty than anything.
It starts at $2,500, yet its sporting a 12th-Gen Intel Core i7-1260U.
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Its enough to power your basic browsing tasks, but not much more than that.
The Fold does have a relatively lovely OLED screen.
The Fold could be more like a traditional convertible akin to the Microsoft Surface or LenovosYoga series.
It’s easy enough to take the ThinkPad apart and turn it into a laptop, though you can’t travel around with the keyboard tucked into the screen.Gif: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
The company may need to go back to the drawing board on its foldable PC design.
The company is certainly not one to eschew innovation.
Just take a quick gander at thehybrid Android and Windows ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybridor theLegion Gohandheld console.
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
I hate creases on foldable devices.
My favorite foldable rig from last year was theOnePlus Open.
It managed to minimize the crease down to a bare sliver.
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
You wont feel any gulley if you trigger the smart pen across the screen.
Still, the screen doesnt unfold to a perfect 180 degrees, more like 177.
Its especially noticeable when youre holding it like a tablet.
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Still, Lenovo is another company that has proven you’re able to design foldables without a crease.
Then things start getting weird.
And thats all before you get to the keyboard.
Lenovo described its design as a full-sized keyboard, but it feels far more cramped than I would like.
Thewonky Asus Zenbook Duoalso sticks the keyboard between its dual screens for easy portability.
The haptic trackpad is minuscule, a little less than 4.25 by 2 inches.
It all is a bit of a compromise to protect the sensitive foldable screen.
Sure, its 2.78 pounds without the keyboard, but its 4.16 pounds with the keyboard and kickstand together.
That might be okay by laptop standards, but thats uncomfortable for any tablet of any size.
Simply put, there are other, lighter options available for laptops.
That being said, its a very compact PC overall.
This makes it the smallest PC Ive used, and its not afull-on mini PC.
you’re free to one hand it easily so long as its all.
Its a low-power version of a previous-gen CPU, so you shouldnt expect more from it.
The foldable ThinkPad runs on the in-built Intel Iris Xe graphics, so its not a graphics powerhouse.
Yet, I was still disappointed by its overall GPU capabilities.
It was outstripped in Blender tests, where we asked it to render a single image of a BMW.
It took over six minutes to render a single image relying on the CPU.
It ran even worse when trying to rely solely on GPU prefs.
My tea was getting cold when I finished rendering two images in Blender.
You could use it for routine text-based tasks or simple Photoshop but dont expect much else.
Its certainly a colorful screen with relatively strong blacks.
If you dont want to take my word for it, its VESA Display HDR True Black 600 certified.
So its what you might expect from OLED, with nice vibrant colors.
It makes watching your streaming content a quality experience, even if you hang in the shade.
I had my windows drawn with the barest crack of light showing through, and that wasnt too bad.
The sound quality of the X1 Fold is also admirable for its size.
Its just another odd design choice from a very odd product overall.
Still, I got four to six hours on a single charge, even when running benchmarking tests.
Thats pretty fair, considering the X1 Folds overall size and the apparent limitations of flat batteries.
And that was using it at the full-screen extension.
Youll likely get more juice from it while running in laptop mode.
While it works fine as a basic productivity gadget, its certainly less than ideal.
The foldable PC has yet to shake itself free of feeling like were still in prototype territory.
These squashable screens make far too many compromises to get a working product.
The breakthrough is there, perhaps, but to be honest, Id rather not hold out hope.
Want more of Gizmodos consumer electronics picks?
Check out our guides to thebest laptops,best TVs, andbest headphones.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
Two banks say Amazon has paused negotiations on some international data centers.
Framework Laptop 13 Review: Wait, Did I Actually Have Fun With a PC?
The Framework 13 now feels like a laptop that’s more than a modular, repairable novelty.
It’s now a equipment that’s a joy to both build and use.
