I’ve tested several of the best laptops over the years, and the new Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable is easily the most unique one yet. Its name might give away its main feature, but most people likely won’t know what a “rollable” laptop is without further explanation. I know I didn’t when I first heard about this concept notebook two years ago.
Well, Lenovo’s rollable laptop is no longer a concept, as a review unit just arrived at our office a couple of days ago. We got to check out Lenovo’s first rollable laptop at CES 2025, but I only gave it a cursory glance since my focus was on the Lenovo Legion Go S at that time. Now that I’ve had the chance to go hands-on with this rollable laptop, I can tell you that it’s unlike anything I’ve ever tested — and I mean that in the best way possible.
I’ll have a full review of the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable for you soon, but for now, I wanted to share my initial thoughts, as this is a truly distinctive laptop. Though it’s definitely strange (and very expensive), it’s not something we should dismiss as gimmicky. In fact, it could be exactly what you need to boost your productivity.
What’s a “rollable” laptop?
As I mentioned earlier, not everyone is familiar with rollable devices. As a result, I’ll provide a brief summary to help you understand what Lenovo’s rollable laptop is.
A rollable device uses a flexible display that allows the screen to be extended or retracted by rolling it in and out of a housing, usually through a motorized mechanism. You can think of it like a window shade or even a scroll. As we explained in our Foldable phones vs. rollable phones piece, this technology differs from that of foldable phones, which fold in half.
For the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable, a portion of the display is inside the laptop. At the press of a button on the keyboard deck, the laptop’s display rolls upward, extending the 120Hz OLED panel from 14 to 16.7 inches.
You can even hear the motor whirr as the display extends or retracts, which is something I didn’t originally hear on the busy CES show floor.
Now that we know how this laptop functions, let’s get into what it’s like using it.
An unusual experience
I probably shouldn’t admit this as a tech journalist, but it’s easy to become jaded about technology after you’ve tested hundreds of devices. The magic of testing something new is a feeling that’s sometimes hard to recapture. I didn’t expect to be surprised by the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable since I had already seen it at CES.
Then I spent a good five minutes doing nothing but pressing the button that makes the display extend and retract. That might sound silly, but trust me, seeing the screen go up and down brings back that old magic I spoke about. You’d have to be one super jaded person to think this rollable function isn’t one of the coolest things you’ve seen. It’ll put a smile on your face.
Cool factor aside, having such a comically long display is actually beneficial for work. With the extra 50% screen real estate, you can scroll long pages or documents more efficiently than you would on a 16:9 or 16:10 display. You can have two (or more) apps on top of each other, which can be useful if you don’t have an external display.
Getting into specifics, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable effectively has two display modes. The primary one is 14 inches with a 2000 x 1600 resolution and a 5:4 aspect ratio. In extended mode, the screen is 16.7 inches with a 2000 x 2350 resolution with an 8:9 aspect ratio. Those resolutions and aspect ratios aren’t the norm for laptops, but whether it’s rolled in or out, everything on the display appears sharp and vibrant.
Based on my time so far, I haven’t been disappointed by this laptop’s performance. Thanks to its Intel Core Ultra 7 258V CPU, 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD, it easily handles my average workflow. It also performed well in the Geekbench CPU benchmark. I’ll have a full account of its performance in my upcoming review.
The downsides
The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable is undeniably unique, but it’s certainly not perfect. With the understanding that I’m still testing this laptop, I’ve already noted some flaws that could be detrimental in both the long and short term. And I’m not just talking about the steep $3,299 asking price.
Measuring 11.9 x 9.08 x 0.75 (when rolled in and closed) and weighing 3.7 pounds, Lenovo’s rollable laptop isn’t too large or heavy. However, it’s noticeably thicker than even a 14-inch MacBook Pro M4, which is 0.61 inches thick. I’m not surprised at the laptop’s thickness, given that it needs room for the display to roll into. But if you’re looking for a thin laptop, this one isn’t it.
Another thing I’m not enamored with is the inconsistency of using hand gestures to roll and unroll the display. You’re supposed to place an open hand near the laptop’s webcam and wait for an on-screen icon of a hand being scanned before you move your hand up or down for the appropriate action. However, this doesn’t always work, if it even works at all. Maybe I’ll eventually nail this action, but right now, let’s just say I’m glad there’s a button so I don’t have to rely on gestures to roll and unroll the display.
Lastly, there’s the question of durability. When we asked Lenovo, a company rep told us that this laptop’s display is rated for around 20,000 opens. That might sound like a lot, but keep in mind that foldable phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 are rated for 250,000 opens.
However, since you might not constantly extend the display like you would on a phone, 20,000 opens might be more than enough. Still, durability is something that could eventually be an issue.
Outlook
Lenovo is always willing to try something innovative, as we’ve seen with the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 that we’ve reviewed. That’s why I can appreciate what the company is doing with the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable. Yes, it’s expensive and strange, but it can also be the ideal laptop for folks who travel a lot and don’t want to lug an external monitor around to get more screen space.
Again, I’ll have a full review of the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable, as well as additional related content, so stay tuned!
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