We seem to be in the decade of transparent tech at the moment. Nothing’s been making a name for itself with transparent devices, and this year’s CES showed us that the top TVs are ready for screens to go transparent, too. For a few years, we’ve heard rumours of a transparent laptop from Lenovo. And these rumours have surfaced again with some new photos, ahead of a possible reveal at the MWC 2024 expo.
Read more: MWC 2024: everything you need to know about the global mobile tech show
Serial tipster Evan Blass (known as Evleaks) has shared an image of the upcoming laptop, explaining that Lenovo would be bringing it along to MWC 2024. The image shows two of the laptops on a desk – one with the screen turned on that you can peer at through the other with the screen switch off. If this is a leaked marketing image, it’s a pretty clever one. Things look pretty similar to the images WindowsReport showed off earlier this month, making us think this is what the final thing will look like.
This concept laptop shows a completely transparent display up top, akin to a window. In place of a physical keyboard, there’s a full-sized tablet. It’ll be some kind of touch-sensitive keyboard, like with the ability to also show additional content. There’s a stylus that you’ll be able to nab as well, for more creative inputs. Presumably you’ll have to use this on the “keyboard tablet” rather than the transparent display. It looks like the laptop will run Windows 11, which makes sense for a new laptop.
Transparent display technology isn’t entirely new – Samsung first introduced a similar idea at CES 2010. But we’re yet to see any mainstream transparent displays hit the market. Although, there is a Xiaomi transparent TV you can track down in Asia. While Lenovo’s upcoming laptop is still a concept for now, it’s interesting to imagine how this tech might work in more useful products. It could be particularly good for workplace settings, where it may be valuable to see other things or people around you. Of course, MWC is no stranger to concepts (such as Motorola’s rollable phone), and that doesn’t mean it will ever arrive to consumers.
