Both are small form factor laptops featuring large fold-out screens.
The implications for the future of portable gear design are potentially huge.
That’s just for the base model, too.
Open it, and you have a standard 13-Inch laptop.
Remove the magnetically attached Bluetooth keyboard, and it automatically moves to portrait mode.
More than intuitive, it just happens.
Image Credit: Adam Lein/Pocketnow
If you are a digital artist, however, there’s a disappointment in store.
The Zenbook Fold’s touchscreen doesn’t support styluses.
Which is arguably the whole point of having the fold-out screen in the first place.
In fact, it’s the best flat panel Bluetooth keyboard I’ve used to date.
Lenovo isn’t new to this either.
The second generation addresses every one of these problems.
The X1 Fold also can do a couple of things the Zenbook Fold can’t.
There’s also an optional $250 stylus that attaches magnetically to the tablet chassis.
It too, will be out in the latter half of 2022, with November hinted at.
Image Credit: Adam Lein/Pocketnow
Folding Screen Laptops: The Future?
Hands-on, these both feel like much more than laptops or tablets.
They feel like something new.
Image Credit: Adam Lein/Pocketnow
Both of these devices bridge the gap between 2-in-1 laptops, large tablets, and foldable phones.
Folding screens are no longer the bleeding edge of technology, but they’ve rarely lived up to expectations.
There’s still an argument to be made now thatfolding smartphones might not be worth your money.
2-in-1 laptops have had a much easier ride, however.
TheMSI Summit E13 Flip Evois a fantastic laptop in its own right.
Add folding to the equation, though, and everything changes.
Small laptops hiding bigger screens are the first step toward mid-size laptops with much larger screens.
Large tablets that can fold instantly become more portable.
Part of the problem is the niche value of this tech when compared to the price.
These machines aren’t perfect either.
That’s not to mention the fact that theBluetooth keyboardswill need charging separately too.
Not the first laptops with folding screens, but arguably the first viable ones.
My time with both of these devices really convinced me that this tech is not a gimmick.
It is rare I touch any new unit and immediately want one for myself.
Your next foldable unit might be a lot more practical than a folding phone.
