I Tried Lenovo's $3,000 Rollable Thinkbook And Can't Go Back To Regular-sized Screens

ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 is disposable now, starting astatine $3,300.
• The 120Hz, OLED, portrait-style 16.7-inch show delivers an expansive workspace, supported by a haptic touchpad.
• It has constricted I/O, has immoderate visible creasing connected nan rollable display, and has a sky-high price.

Lenovo unveiled its "rollable" laptop astatine CES 2 years agone arsenic a chaotic impervious of conception that turned heads, but near consumers skeptical. Well, nan institution has since proved its point: nan ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable is now disposable to consumers for an eye-watering $3,300, but packed pinch premium creation elements, coagulated hardware, and a 120Hz OLED show that extends to almost 17 inches astatine nan property of a button. 

Also: Lenovo's $3,000 rollable ThinkBook laptop is officially disposable to bargain - cognize this earlier you do

I've been utilizing nan ThinkBook Plus for complete a week arsenic my main laptop, and I person to admit, I'm enamored by nan extendable screen, peculiarly arsenic a productivity instrumentality for work. 

But arsenic nan first of its kind, it's acold from perfect. There are a fistful of trade-offs owed to nan laptop's form, and nan sky-high value invites a captious oculus to each constituent of its design. That being said, it is yet a well-engineered laptop. Let's return a person look. 

Like each ThinkBooks, nan laptop exudes business, featuring a metallic, two-tone design. It's not my favourite aesthetic, but it's surely durable and resists fingerprints measurement amended than each nan matte achromatic designs retired there. 

Upon first glance, nan laptop looks for illustration immoderate other. One of nan first things to guidelines retired is nan heavy bezels framing nan display, but arsenic your oculus draws to nan bottom, you announcement thing strange: there's nary bottommost bezel -- nan surface conscionable continues beneath nan keyboard. 

Also: How to bargain a laptop for school, work, aliases gaming (and our apical picks for each)

The remainder of nan rollable surface is parked underneath, waiting to beryllium unfurled. With nan push of a button, nan standard-sized show extends upwards, expanding nan surface size to 16.7 inches.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

The consequence is simply a large, portrait-style show that goes acold beyond immoderate different modular laptop surface size connected nan market. The glossy, OLED surface delivers a awesome picture, pinch nary flickering aliases dimming astir nan edges, though location is immoderate visible creasing that looks for illustration what you'd spot connected a foldable phone's display. 

This is particularly existent if you rotate nan glossy show to bespeak nan light. It's a small much visible than I expected and surely thing of statement (given nan price), but ultimately, it doesn't really overshadow nan use of nan ample screen. 

For example, you extremity noticing nan creasing erstwhile your attraction is focused connected what you're really doing. It's 1 of those things that's an inevitable portion of its mechanics -- it took foldable phones respective years to trim nan creasing connected their displays -- and though it doesn't precisely shriek "premium", it doesn't cancel retired nan benefits nan surface provides. 

Also: I tried Lenovo's infamous 'rollable' laptop astatine CES - it's much applicable than I thought

So what are nan said benefits? First off, nan other room is simply a activity of caller air. It allows for a freely workspace that I person to admit, makes for a very bully personification experience. Personally, I for illustration moving 1 large, full-screen desktop, but you tin besides put 2 windows, 1 connected apical of nan other, for 2 16:9 desktops. 

To maximize existent estate, I group nan standard successful Windows to 125%, bringing nan UI down to a much manageable size that results successful a crisp and businesslike interface. However, if you want a larger UI, it still feels much roomy than a regular laptop display. 

If you're a programmer, you'll admit nan extended image orientation, but anyone who useful pinch documents will emotion being capable to spot a 3rd much contented connected nan surface astatine a glance. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

As an editor, it drastically improves moving successful Google Docs and my browser-based CMS, some of which use from much visibility without having to squint astatine a UI that's been scaled down to nan atomic level. 

Even basal web browsing is improved, pinch much of nan page connected nan surface astatine once, and much contented visible pinch little scrolling. In that sense, nan show mirrors nan mobile layout, which is yet much scrollable. 

Rolling nan surface up tin beryllium done by pressing nan associated cardinal aliases pinch a manus motion successful beforehand of nan webcam. While it's extending, nan surface defaults to playing an animation (different ones are selectable successful settings) pinch immoderate thematic music, past reloading your desktop erstwhile it reaches nan desired size. The euphony tin beryllium a small overmuch successful a quiet office, truthful luckily, each of these features tin beryllium turned off. 

When afloat extended, nan bottommost 3rd of nan surface is occupied by nan Lenovo widget panel, which shows reminders, your to-do list, and a almanac astatine a glance. You tin pin this to enactment permanently connected aliases person it hide down your different apps. 

There's really a batch of contented here, including short videos that show really to usage motion controls to raise and little nan show and immoderate suggestions connected really to shape nan surface much effectively. 

Beyond nan display, nan remainder of nan laptop's halfway components are rather nice. The keyboard is simply a small shallow, but nan keys consciousness great, pinch a satisfying click that's crisp and responsive. 

I was besides thrilled to find nan haptic trackpad to beryllium conscionable arsenic well-engineered, pinch a azygous click nary matter wherever you property down connected nan pad, and a delicate input for swipe gestures. One point to note, however, is that successful cooler temperatures, you mightiness person immoderate problem pinch nan pad recognizing your fingers, particularly if they're cold.

Also: The Lenovo ThinkPad streak is over: This exemplary I tested bucks a decade-long inclination (for nan better)

Also statement that nan laptop's shape facet limits its I/O access, pinch conscionable 2 USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports and a headphone jack. All 3 ports are located connected nan near broadside of nan device, which mightiness beryllium problematic for immoderate users, but is an expected trade-off for nan features. 

All successful all, nan laptop's halfway beingness build feels premium (if a small chunky), and moreover without nan rollable display, it would beryllium a coagulated agency laptop. The fingerprint scholar connected nan powerfulness key, on pinch support for Wi-Fi 7 seal nan woody arsenic a modern business device. 

Under nan hood, nan Intel Core Ultra 7 "Lunar Lake" processor, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of retention make for a modular hardware loadout comparable to immoderate number of mid-to-upper scope business laptops. The large show is powered by an integrated Intel Arc 140V GPU pinch 16GB of soul memory, supplying much than capable powerfulness for regular use. 

If you're looking to crippled connected this laptop, it tin grip immoderate mainstream titles, but it's not precisely built for moving top-tier gaming content. In "normal" laptop mode, you've sewage a 2000 x 1600 resolution, modular fare for a 14-inch. But if your crippled supports a 2000 x 2350 resolution, you tin play pinch nan surface afloat extended, which decidedly feels for illustration a unsocial experience, but because of each nan surface space, it isn't precisely optimized for high-APM gaming. 

If you're playing an older crippled that doesn't support that resolution, well, nan crippled will simply revert to nan accepted resolution, resulting successful quiet abstraction beneath nan model and negating nan full constituent of nan extended display. The bottommost statement here: gaming tin beryllium a prize for this laptop, but not what it's made for. 

Also: Finally, a Windows laptop that I wouldn't mind putting distant my MacBook Pro for

Regarding artillery life, nan show expectedly cuts into nan 66Whr battery's longevity, though not arsenic overmuch arsenic you mightiness expect. During normal use, you tin get a afloat activity time of usage retired of it pinch nan surface extended, but it's cutting it close. If you adhd successful videoconferencing and much demanding workloads, you mightiness not make it done nan time without a powerfulness top-up. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

That being said, nan Lunar Lake spot does let for nan artillery nonaccomplishment to trim to a trickle erstwhile not successful use, and it charges fast: astir 80% successful an hour. In our video playback test, we sewage a small complete 11 hours astatine half brightness successful balanced mode complete Wi-Fi. 

So let's reside nan elephant successful nan room: nan price. Lenovo is good alert that this laptop is not for everyone. In fact, it's astir apt nan astir niche merchandise I've reviewed each year. Instead, it's much astir proving a point. 

Also: I've tested dozens of ThinkPads: Here's nan Lenovo exemplary I support coming backmost to

Lenovo wants to task a estimation of innovation, but much importantly, it wants to beryllium it tin present said products to market. This instrumentality reflects that mission, earning it an important spot successful Lenovo's portfolio, moreover if it's not nan year's apical seller. 

It's besides nan first loop of this rollable concept, and arsenic such, nan beingness creation is not rather arsenic polished arsenic you'd find successful Lenovo's different high-end laptops, for illustration nan ThinkPad X9 Aura Edition aliases nan X1 Carbon. These laptops travel from a merchandise statement backed up by decades of creation and engineering, pinch nan ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 having room to amended successful consequent exemplary versions. 

ZDNET's buying advice

The ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 is an awesome product, moreover considering its trade-offs. The show has visible creases and heavy bezels, but erstwhile it's afloat extended, you hide astir them. The artillery isn't nan best, but it's acold from nan worst. It's not a stellar gaming rig, but that's not why you bargain a ThinkBook, anyway. 

It's niche, and it's expensive, but it does what it's expected to: present a awesome personification acquisition successful nan office, pinch an expansive, elastic show that looks great, pairs nicely pinch a premium haptic touchpad, and conscionable nan correct magnitude of powerfulness nether nan hood. 

Also: I switched to nan Dell 14 Premium for 2 weeks, and it made my XPS laptop look bad

At $3,200, this isn't a mainstream laptop, and I wouldn't urge it unless you're perfectly sold connected nan extendable show and are committed to nan shape facet successful nan agelong term. 

The reality is that you tin get almost thing for less: a MacBook Pro M4 pinch 24GB of RAM, aliases nan caller brand-new Dell 14 Premium pinch nan aforesaid processor and an upgraded Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU for $1,000 less. But if you're successful emotion pinch nan large screen, I tin opportunity that it's a productivity game-changer successful nan office.