Lenovo used CES 2020 to officially unveil ThinkPad X1 Fold, the foldable PC that has been four years in development and through six designs and will launch in the second half of 2020, starting at $2,499.
Also: More CES coverage at CNET[1]
At enterprise and strategy events, Lenovo has teased the foldable PC (in 2019[2] and 2017[3]) but declined to give timelines. Now Lenovo says it is ready to launch a ThinkPad with folding OLED display. The ThinkPad X1 Fold could also give businesses more mobility options as they navigate foldable phones, tablets, and convertible devices.
Christian Teismann, president of Lenovo's commercial PC and smart device business, said the company has been looking for new form factors for years starting with its Yoga franchise. "A PC is only usable for full productivity at a certain size, about 12- to 13-inches," explained Teismann. "We ultimately came back to something fundamental like a book form factor in business."
The big challenge was developing a foldable device that could span the 3- to 5-year lifecycle and usage of a PC. Teismann said the first working sample was handed out about a year ago and added that the ThinkPad brand[4] could continue to evolve.
The ThinkPad X1 Fold will start at $2,499, but exact pricing will be revealed closer to the second half 2020 launch date. Teismann said that the ThinkPad X1 Fold would be available for order early in the second half of 2020 with shipments in the middle of the second half. If that timing holds, Lenovo will be shipping its X1 Fold about the same time as Microsoft debuts its Neo and Duo devices[5].
Among the key points:
- ThinkPad