Lenovo’s latest laptop comes with a secondary screen to keep you productive + creative in the strangest way

Lenovo seems to be a big believer in the “two screens are better than one” adage, and it is putting that into practice in an unconventional yet surprisingly attractive way.

CES is always a time for companies to show off their latest gadgets and trinkets, which also includes new laptops to pique your curiosity until they become available for purchase. Design-wise, many laptops have started to look too much alike, differentiated only by color and branding. Lenovo’s new ThinkBook Plus seems to be part of the same flock on the outside, but flipping it open reveals an almost magical trick that’s promising to level up your work, or at least your artwork.

Designer: Lenovo

This isn’t the first time Lenovo actually went off the beaten path to offer a new take on mobile productivity. Aside from launching the world’s first foldable laptop, it also created a new line of notebooks with two screens. The first two ThinkBook Plus models put a second screen, actually an e-ink display, on the back of the laptop. This third-gen laptop does away with that but manages to still cram in a second display inside.

Opening the Lenovo ThinkBook Gen 3 immediately reveals its special feature, an 8-inch screen off to the right side of the keyboard. It’s a multi-functional screen that acts as more than just an extension of the large 17.3-inch main display. It is actually more like an extension of the keyboard that just so happens to be dynamic and completely digital.

It can be a sub-screen that apps can use to display controls like buttons and sliders, freeing the main screen for content. It can also be used like a Wacom tablet with the integrated stylus, or a handy notepad on the side for jotting down meeting notes. It can even mirror your smartphone screen, specifically Motorola phones that support the ill-named “Ready For” feature, giving you a tablet that’s always within reach. And, yes, you can also use it as a calculator in lieu of the usual numpad.

While the idea behind this unorthodox design is really appealing, the implementation does come with a few drawbacks. With a 17.3-inch screen, a thickness of 0.7 inches, and a weight of 4.4 lbs, the ThinkBook Gen 3 isn’t exactly the most portable laptop around. The placement of that second screen is also biased towards right-handed people, and there doesn’t seem to be an option for those with the opposite dexterity.

The $1,399 price tag will also be a tad hard to swallow, but you are at least getting what you pay for in terms of hardware and features. One might even argue you are getting more because of that second screen. Admittedly, it will not appeal to everyone, but the Lenovo ThinkBook Gen 3 is unusual and quirky enough to at least get people thinking and talking about it.

The post Lenovo’s latest laptop comes with a secondary screen to keep you productive + creative in the strangest way first appeared on Yanko Design.

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The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus has a secondary e-ink display on its back, turning it into a Kindle when closed

Practically an iPhone moment for the laptop, the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus is a laptop, notepad, and e-book reader… all in one single device. Now the idea of two screens on one device has been floating around for long. The MacBook with its touch-bar is literally a dual-screen device, and the Asus ZenBook Pro 15 from 2018 flirted with the idea of turning the touchpad into a secondary screen… but the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus has pushed limits by making its secondary screen a decidedly large 10.8-inch e-ink display that sits on the lid of the laptop, facing outwards. Lenovo feels the dual-screen nature boosts the laptop’s productivity, and on paper, it definitely does. Let’s dig in.

The secondary screen sits on the top of the laptop, making it look almost like a really thick Kindle with massive bezels when closed. The e-ink display on the outside is touch-sensitive too, responding to fingers as well as a stylus that comes along with the device. The secondary display can be used for taking notes, interfacing with your laptop (even when it’s closed) by talking to Alexa, accessing your calendar, or doing various small tasks that makes little sense to open the laptop and boot it up to execute. When closed, the ThinkBook Plus still remains functional, letting you draw, write, and even read, thanks to the Windows Kindle app that lets you access your ebook library. Is it worth it, using a massive 13.3-inch laptop to read books on? That’s something the consumers will decide.

Other than its dual display, the ThinkBook Plus is a pretty decent laptop. It comes with a 13.3 inch IPS 1080p primary display, Dolby Vision support, a power button with a fingerprint reader built into it, a pretty sturdy aluminum body, and a price tag of $1199, which seems alright considering you’re getting a laptop and Kindle (with built-in Alexa) for the price of one device.

Designer: Lenovo

Image Credits: Verge, Engadget.

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