Keeping their promise, Lenovo showcased Project Crystal at the MWC 2024 event in Barcelona. They’re calling it the world’s first laptop with a micro-LED display, and it’s got a futuristic vibe, almost like it’s from a sci-fi movie.
Currently, Lenovo has no plans to sell Project Crystal as a regular product. It’s a concept device made by their ThinkPad team to test out transparent microLED panels and AI features.
One cool thing about it is that you could share information in places like a doctor’s office or a hotel desk. You could flip the display using software instead of turning the screen around. That way, people on the other side can see it while someone gives them a detailed explanation.
The desktop icons look like they’re floating in the air. They’re clear and easy to see, but a tiny bit of blur is around the edges. You can still use them just fine.
Watching videos with a transparent background is a bit harder to see because the changing colors and movement don’t stand out as much. But you can still watch and understand what’s happening without too much trouble.
Lenovo says putting the rear camera into the system could lead to new augmented reality (AR) uses. For example, the camera could recognize objects, like how Google Lens works.
Because the screen is see-through, what’s behind it—like a wall or window—affects how well you can see things on it, though it might not matter as much as you think. If the background is dark, it can make light images and text easier to see. But if it’s against a window or other light source, it can make it harder to see.
Still, you can read the screen pretty well in all these situations. A 17-inch laptop with a glass screen isn’t the easiest thing to carry around, but being able to move it when you need to is important to use the screen effectively.
The transparent screen has many layers, but it’s still very thin and looks like a regular piece of glass when it’s not turned on. But when you press a button, it lights up and gets super bright, reaching 3000 nits.
Lenovo is considering adding another layer to the screen to become opaque like a normal laptop screen. But the resolution of the screen isn’t very high.
The laptop still has a lot of things that need fixing. I only saw two ports on the whole thing, which is a big problem for such a big laptop. Plus, it uses an older CPU, and some parts, like the hinge, are weak. The screen almost closes by itself if you tilt it too much.
Also, for some reason, the laptop builds up static electricity. Sometimes, it shocks people who touch the screen.
Project Crystal seems like a solution to a problem. There is a problem in some specific situations, but it’s not a big deal for most people. However, it’s making us think about what we can do with new screen technology and how it might be used in laptops.
