First Impressions: Lenovo Auto Twist AI PC Proof of Concept Review

Introduction

Lenovo has introduced a concept laptop that opens, closes and spins from voice commands.

Lenovo has been busy during IFA 2024 in Berlin, having announced a multitude of laptops that run on the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus, AMD Ryzon processors and the new Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) chip. But there was also a proof of concept revealed that takes voice control to an entirely different level. 

The Lenovo Auto Twist AI PC Proof of Concept (yes, that is its full name) will automatically twist into tablet mode, twist back into laptop mode and spin to take a 360-degree selfie. It probably won’t ever launch as a real product, at least not in its current format, but it’s always fun to see what is possible and how technology could expand in the future.

I saw the Lenovo Auto Twist at IFA 2024 and here’s what it does, how it works and what it can do.

Design 

• 297 x 221 x 15.9mm
• 1.27kg
• Storm Grey

Take one look at the Lenovo Auto Twist when it’s open or closed and it looks like any of Lenovo’s other ThinkPad laptops with a slightly more premium build. It’s relatively slim at 15.9mm, and quite light at 1.27kg, making it around the same weight as the MacBook Air M3. A trackpad is positioned below the keyboard and there’s a notch at the top of the display to house the camera. 

When closed, the lid has ThinkPad branding on the top and overall, it’s the kind of design most people would be more than happy with, even without the tricks it has up its sleeve.

It’s those tricks that make this laptop one of the more exciting IFA reveals however. The Auto Twist is very much not a traditional ThinkPad, despite its design initially suggesting it is.

There’s a section at the bottom of the display that’s pivotal to the design, not just physically but literally too. This element allows the Auto Twist’s display to well, automatically twist, as well as open and close automatically.

Look too close and the lid of the Auto Twist is a little flimsy and there are times when it will pause after you command it to do something – more on that in a second – but that can be forgiven when it comes to concepts. They aren’t about perfection, they are about showing off what can be achieved.

Features

• Several voice-controlled modes
• 360-degree panoramic selfie

The Auto Twist had a number of modes to show what it was capable of. In Free Mode, the camera at the top of the display will find a face and the display then twists to follow that face. If you were presenting a Powerpoint for example and you were moving side to side across the room whilst presenting, the Auto Twist’s screen twists with you.

A Dance Mode saw the lid spin and twist, looking a little like a ballerina on a stage but a very straight and rigid one and in plastic format. The music for the dance demo was creepy, and there’s no real world use for this mode particularly, but it did show off the various angles the lid of this concept laptop could move in.

Say “Hi Twist, Open Lid” when the Auto Twist is closed and the lid will slowly open without you having to lift a finger. There are a couple of other commands that work too, like “Hi Twist, Close Lid”, which as you might expect, closes the laptop lid back down, while “Hi Twist, Laptop Mode” sees the Auto Twist move into a traditional laptop position. In this position and mode, you wouldn’t know it was anything other than a standard laptop. 

For Tablet Mode, which you can get the Auto Twist to enter by saying “Hi Twist, Tablet Mode”, the screen will open, twist around and finish flat on top of the keyboard. It’s of course a very thick tablet in this mode compared to an iPad or a Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 for example, but the point is that this isn’t just a 2-in-1, but a 2-in-1 that goes into the various positions on its own following your command.

The Creator Mode was probably my favourite of the modes, as this sees the Auto Twist move into the tablet position but automatically launch an app for drawing too. The Auto Twist isn’t available to buy so there would currently be no need for developers to support their apps being an option to launch automatically when a user says “Hi Twist, Creator Mode”, but there’s potential here.

There was also a Panorama Demo mode that saw the Auto Twist take a 360-degree panoramic selfie of the room. I see less use cases for this mode than all the others this device offers (except the dance demo), but if you’re presenting on stage and you want a picture of yourself and your audience, it could come in handy.

Performance 

• Intel H Series Core Ultra 7 processor
• 32GB RAM, 512GB storage
• 13.3-inch OLED screen, 2880 x 1880p

The Auto Twist AI PC POC runs the Intel H Series Core Ultra 7 processor under its hood, which isn’t the latest Intel chip that the also newly announced, Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition runs on. Instead, it’s the chip Intel announced late in 2023. 

There’s 32GB of LPDDR5X-7467 RAM on board, along with 512GB of storage, but there wasn’t the opportunity to test its overall performance as this was about showcasing the twist feature rather than how well it can run Windows 11 Pro and deliver artificial intelligence features. 

When I commanded the Auto Twist to enter the different modes, it had no issues in responding and there was no need to set up a voice profile or anything in order for it to respond to me, or anyone else for that matter. 

There were a couple of Auto Twist models on one table and it was rather funny when I said “Hi Twist, Tablet Mode” and all of them started moving. The panoramic selfie mode did pause during the demo, but that’s to be expected with concept devices.

Elsewhere on the spec front, there are two 2W speakers and a dual array of mics. The front camera is 5-megapixels, while the display is a 13.3-inch OLED screen with a 2880 x 1880 pixel resolution. It has a 60Hz refresh rate and its 10-point multi-touch with a 400 nits brightness. 

Early Verdict

The Lenovo Auto Twist AI PC POC has no on sale date or even a manufacturing date as yet, but of all the concepts I have seen from this company over the last few years, this is the one I can actually visualise becoming an actual product.

Do you need to be able to open your laptop with your voice? Perhaps not. But there’s definitely an accessibility angle here and for some, this concept could be excellent if it becomes a reality. 

For now, it remains a concept but Lenovo is showing off what it is capable of and what we could see from laptops in the not too distant future.