Lenovo shows laptop of the future: its screen tracks human movements and understands voice commands

Lenovo showcased its concept laptop, the Auto Twist AI PC, at IFA 2024, featuring a motorized hinge. The device can automatically rotate its screen to follow the user's movements and transform from a laptop to a tablet and back using voice commands.

Auto Twist AI PC represents a new take on the convertible laptop form factor, which has been around for over 20 years, according to The Verge. Unlike modern 360-degree hinge laptops that fold with the screen facing outward, early models rotated around a central axis and folded over the keyboard. Lenovo has previously experimented with similar designs, releasing a model in 2012 and again in 2023 with an OLED screen on one side and an E Ink display on the other.

While the new concept responds to voice commands almost instantly, its transformation mechanism is relatively slow, taking about 10 seconds to switch modes. However, the "follow me" feature, which tracks the user and adjusts the screen angle accordingly, operates quickly and is particularly useful during video calls.

Lenovo’s Director of Communications, Jeff Witt, stated that the company is still experimenting with this technology. "Many concepts don’t make it to market, but elements of these technologies could appear in the future," Witt said. "This is practically a video conferencing system built into the laptop, with huge potential for people with disabilities." He also noted that voice command control is not only convenient but also stylish.