Lenovo’s new ThinkBook 3D laptop concept is like a Nintendo 3DS, but for Zoom calls

The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show is always filled with funky conceptual products, and this year’s event is no different. As ever, Lenovois at the forefront of pushing the boundariesof the PC industry, and the company’s new ThinkBook 3D concept laptop is a great example of this.

With the ThinkBook 3D, Lenovo is showcasing a conceptual product that can display 3D images on-screen, without the need for dedicated glasses. More impressively, the 3.2K 3200 x 2000 pixel resolution panel can display both 2D and 3D images at the same time, on different sections of the same screen.

According to Lenovo, Directional Backlight 3D technology is leveraged to achieve this hybrid 2D and 3D effect. Additionally, the display is very slightly curved, and head-tracking technology is employed to maintain dimensionality from multiple angles.

In practice, you can navigate through the Windowsoperating system in standard 2D, while simultaneously displaying a 3D image within a Zoomcall window. This opens up a number of other potential use cases, though a more immersive video conferencing experience is arguably the most appealing from a user-facing perspective.

Glasses-free 3D itself isn’t a new technology, and we’ve seen PC makers flirt with the tech on their laptops in the past. Most notably, a form of the tech was used in the Nintendo 3DShandheld game console that was released all the way back in 2011. In many ways, the ThinkBook 3D looks and feels like a supersized 3DS, owing to the similar clamshell design.

What sets Lenovo’s new ThinkBook 3D concept apart from previous glasses-free 3D devices is its accompanying AI smart ring accessory, which allows you to interact with the system via gestures. At the Lenovo booth at MWC, the company showcased the feature by rotating 3D objects in real-time, without the need for a mouseor keyboard.

Of course, the ThinkBook 3D remains a concept device at this point in time. There’s no word from Lenovo regarding a potential release of the product, and we don’t have any substantive information on specs, either.

Lenovo ThinkBook 3D

The ThinkBook 3D is a conceptual laptop from Lenovo, which features a glasses-free 3D display that can display both 2D and 3D content at the same time.

The ThinkBook 3D’s display is the real deal

Glasses-free 3D has always been appealing, but the tech has struggled to break into the mainstream

During my brief time testing out the Lenovo ThinkBook 3D concept laptop on the MWC showroom floor, I came away impressed. The 3D effect is both vivid and convincing, though it should be noted that my experience with the device took place within the confines of a controlled setting.

Unfortunately, the 3D effect doesn’t translate well on camera, and so it’s difficult to convey the quality of the 3D without first-hand and in-person experience with the laptop.

Aside from the aforementioned Nintendo 3DS, very few glasses-free 3D consumer products have truly taken off. Concerns over added costs, the potential for 3D to cause headaches, and a lack of accessibility for those with certain eye conditions, are all top-of-mind issues that require addressing.

I personally love the idea of glasses-free 3D, so long as it remains supplemental to the overall experience, as opposed to mandatory. Lenovo’s unique hybrid approach employed on the ThinkBook 3D is a smart one, and I hope to see the conceptual device evolve into a full-fledged consumer product at some point.

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