Lenovo presents concept laptop with transparent MicroLED screen: Who is it for?

Earlier this month, it became known that the Chinese company Lenovo would showcase a prototype laptop with a transparent display at the MWC 2024 exhibition, and the device named ThinkBook Transparent Display Laptop was indeed presented at the event. The creators anticipate that the display's adjustable transparency will attract the attention of artists and designers, The Verge reports.

According to representatives of Lenovo, as reported by The Verge, the transparent screen may be useful for professionals working with photos and graphics. An architect, placing such a laptop in front of a landscape of interest, could create a sketch of a future building without taking their eyes off the screen. On the external side of the laptop lid, there is a camera that recognizes objects located behind the laptop. According to Lenovo's vision, this allows working with augmented reality technologies.

Technically, the bezel-less MicroLED display has a 17.3-inch diagonal and is frameless, with a supported resolution limited to 720p. However, if Lenovo wanted to create a transparent OLED panel, the display resolution would have to be reduced to 480p. To make the display surface non-transparent, it needs to be filled with a white background, with the maximum screen brightness reaching 1000 nits.

The existing prototype does not allow the entire surface of the screen to become non-transparent, but in the serial version, Lenovo hopes to achieve this. The degree of transparency of the display does not exceed 55 percent. According to company representatives, similar technologies in serial laptops will find application within the next five years.

The laptop prototype lacks a physical keyboard; instead, a virtual keyboard is displayed on the glass surface when needed, which automatically turns off when the user moves away from the computer. On this surface, you can draw and sketch using the included pen, emphasizing the device's narrow functional focus. There are no guarantees that Lenovo will release a laptop with a transparent display for mass production.