It’s not usually you encounter a tool that appears prefer it got here straight out of a film set. However Lenovo’s Undertaking Crystal, supposedly the world’s first laptop computer with a clear microLED show, is an instance of sci-fi come to life.
At present there aren’t any plans to show Undertaking Crystal right into a retail product. As an alternative Lenovo’s newest idea system was commissioned by its ThinkPad division to discover the potential of clear microLED panels and AI integration. The obvious use case could be sharing information someplace, like a health care provider’s workplace or a lodge desk. As an alternative of needing to flip a display round, you might merely reverse the show by way of software program, permitting anybody on the opposite facet to see it whereas getting an in-depth clarification.
When mixed with the digicam constructed into the rear of the system, Lenovo says there might be doable AR functions. One instance could be to make use of the digicam to determine an object, just like Google Lens. And with its clear show, it ought to be doable to take that concept a step additional by overlaying a diagram or schematic on high of the item for issues like troubleshooting or restore.
However one of the best factor about Undertaking Crystal, is that Lenovo bothered making it in any respect. At present, even customary microLED shows are extraordinarily costly with these panels usually reserved for cutting-edge devices like Samsung’s The Wall or Apple’s Vision Pro. And, see-through variations have solely been seen as ideas like on the transparent microLED TV Samsung showed off a few months in the past at CES 2024.
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In particular person, the transparency impact is bewildering. When closed or when its show is off, Undertaking Crystal’s display nearly appears to be like like an peculiar piece of glass with a slight brownish tint. However at a second’s discover the entire thing lights up like a battleship. Nominal brightness goes all the best way as much as 1,000 nits, with Lenovo saying peaks can go as excessive as 3,000 nits, which might make it brighter than the brand new Galaxy S24 family. And regardless of being fabricated from a number of layers, the panel is extraordinarily skinny, which helps blur the road being the digital and analog worlds. Lenovo says it is also contemplating including some type of distinction layer, so it might flip into a standard opaque show on the contact of a button. Nonetheless, for a comparatively giant 16-inch show, its decision isn’t tremendous excessive, so when you look carefully you’ll be able to see particular person pixels.
One other design twist is that as a substitute of a standard keyboard, Undertaking Crystal options one in every of Lenovo’s touch-based replacements just like these on older Yoga Books. Sadly, it nonetheless suffers from lots of the identical points. The obvious instance of that is that your palms drift whereas typing as a result of there’s no tactile suggestions, which ends up in decreased accuracy. Lenovo says AI might be able to tackle that sooner or later by studying an individual’s typing habits after which utilizing that information to account on your palms straying from the house row. However proper now, it’s nonetheless an issue.
The remainder of the laptop computer could be very a lot a piece in progress, too. I solely noticed two ports on the complete system which might be a serious fake pas for a pocket book this massive. Undertaking Crystal can also be based mostly on a last-gen CPU, whereas different parts like its hinge was so weak that its display threatened to shut anytime it tilted under 90 levels. And for some motive, the laptop computer appeared to construct up a static cost, because it typically shocked individuals who touched its show.
Undertaking Crystal is an answer seeking an issue. An issue that does exist in area of interest conditions and could also be a problem value tackling extra significantly down the road. However extra importantly, it’s difficult us to consider what is feasible with rising show expertise and the way it may match right into a laptop computer of the long run.
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