Lenovo’s ThinkPad Rollable XD turns a 13.3-inch laptop into a 16-inch portrait screen

Lenovo’s latest rollable prototype, the ThinkPad Rollable

Yes, this sounds familiar: the ThinkBook Plus Rollable debuted in 2025, extending the laptop’s screen vertically upwards by about 2.5 inches. Now the ThinkBook Plus has given way to the ThinkBuffer Rollable XD at CES 2026, with some changes to presumably make the laptop more accessible to enterprise customers.

The main feature of the ThinkPad Rollable is that the extended screen is functional in both modes, both in the “extended” configuration and in a “normal” laptop configuration. In compact “laptop” mode, the screen wraps around the back of the laptop, creating a small rectangular screen a few inches behind the ThinkPad Rollable XD. In this configuration, the rear screen is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass Victus cover, which allows the laptop to be stored in a backpack or carry bag without damaging the screen.

Lenovo also believes the rear-facing display could be used as a professional tool, and the concept presented to journalists included things like a calendar, various widgets, and potentially a continuous translation of what the speaker was expressing into a different language. Lenovo didn’t say whether the ThinkPad Rollable

Mark Hachman / Foundry

Otherwise, the ThinkPad Rollable XD learns from its consumer-oriented counterpart. The laptop’s screen also extends from 13.3 inches to almost 16 inches, creating an extra sliver of screen real estate or turning a landscape laptop into one oriented like a portrait.

Lenovo has not released the specifications of the device, given that it is still in prototype mode. But I was told to imagine it as a potential candidate for Panther Lake, the Intel Core Ultra 300 processor that will also debut at CES 2026.

Naturally, Lenovo says the ThinkPad Rollable XD is still a prototype and will remain so for the time being. But Lenovo has a history of releasing its prototype devices as finished products, so keep your fingers crossed that they eventually make it to market.