There’s been a lot of talk about AI PCs this year. But so far, it’s been a lot of hype — and not much else.
I’ve just returned from a trip to Berlin to see the best laptops at IFA powered by new chipsets from Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm. Alongside many new products launching soon, I saw a concept highlighting a distant future for computers and a vision of how useful AI could actually be.
The Lenovo AI Twist PC is a concept that allows you to open and close the lid with a simple voice command. Other notable features right now include being able to follow you around the room — ideal if you like to pace during a video call — taking a panorama of the room and syncing with a ballerina movie that showcases the flexibility of the unique hinge mechanism.
Finally, this wasn’t just another device with Copilot. No — it was a laptop that actually took the idea of AI seriously, built into the hardware itself. It was just a concept, but it certainly made me excited for the future of AI PCs.
The challenge for the mobility-impaired
The key feature on the Lenovo AI Twist PC that stood out was opening and closing the lid with a simple voice command. Millions of people have health conditions that impair mobility, and as some diseases develop over time, many will have used a laptop at one point in their lives.
I’ve experienced firsthand how useful a product with a voice-controlled hinge would be.
Imagine waking up one day and realizing it’s now too painful to open a laptop lid, especially if it doesn’t have an easy lip to grab onto. Beyond major health conditions, there are also incurable diseases such as arthritis that can make typing and simple actions like opening a laptop incredibly difficult. Over time, these conditions become progressively worse, and I’ve seen firsthand how suddenly being unable to do things you used to can affect your mental health as well.
For all of these users, opening and closing your laptop with just your voice can provide a freedom that didn’t exist before this concept. Windows and Mac have long provided accessibility and voice control features to help navigate the OS with your voice, but none have been able to affect the hardware, just the software once you are logged in. The Lenovo AI Twist PC shows that a voice-activated hinge could still be the solution that’s needed.
What else could you control with your voice?
The AI Twist PC is a limited proof of concept, and there are no guarantees that Lenovo will make this product a reality for anyone to buy. However, if they were to, what other features could you control with your voice, and what problems could it solve?
For the same people who have mobility issues, what about adjusting the position of the hinge? Instead of just saying, “Hey, Twist, open the lid,” what if you could say, “Hey, Twist, open the lid for a video call,” and it recognized the exact angle at which it needed to be opened? I’ve previously had spinal fusion surgery, and for several months, simple actions like adjusting the lid of my MacBook proved to be quite painful.
The Follow feature is quite impressive as it takes a similar approach to features like Center Stage or Reframe in Google Meet in that it follows you around during a video call. Those features by Apple and Google crop sensors and adjust your positioning accordingly, but if they were to be paired with a hardware hinge with the flexibility of the Lenovo AI Twist PC, we could have the ideal solution for great video calls: hardware and software working in tandem for the best experience. This would prove beneficial for everyone, not just those with mobility impairments.
The challenges with a hardware-only approach
The success of Apple hardware has always been down to its integration with the software. With control over both parts, Apple can integrate features deeply to achieve specific goals. Lenovo has proven that it can do so — the Aura Edition announced at IFA in partnership with Intel is a great example of this — but to achieve a true voice-controlled computing future, Microsoft would need to build support directly into Windows.
Imagine a world where you say, “Hey, Twist, open,” it opens the lid, adjusts the angle, and Windows Hello automatically logs you in. Perhaps we go further, and it knows that you have a video call, so it automatically launches Meet, Zoom, or Teams based on the calendar invite. The power of a movable hardware hinge is that it can enable an entirely new experience controlled by voice that could bring freedom to those without.
Now imagine the same hinge but in a convertible product like the Yoga XYZ. If you have loved ones who live alone, a voice-controlled version of one of those products could enable you to be their remote support. Need help cooking? A quick voice command fires up a video call and flips the keyboard over so it’s in tablet mode.
The same could apply to helping solve any task. Having experienced severe mobility issues after my spinal surgery and having dealt with elderly people who struggle to carry or adjust their positioning without enduring pain, the future of voice control has me truly excited about its potential impact in helping people. None of these are new use cases, but using a laptop instead of a tablet could be a unique solution.
Is this the first step toward a voice-controlled AI PC in the future?
Many concepts don’t become viable products, but this time feels uniquely different. The hinge on the Lenovo AI Twist PC seemed to work fairly well, with strong flexibility in terms of movement and the ability to adjust the angle. The ballerina demo was a great example of how flexible this hinge is, and its mobility in following you around the room has applications that extend far beyond video calls.
The Lenovo AI Twist PC feels like a big step in the right direction. It’s the first time we’ve seen a company attempt something like this, and it has spurred me to think of all the different people it could have a marked impact upon. Whether it’s an ongoing chronic condition or a freak occurrence that disrupts your life — like the PT visit that resulted in my spinal surgery — I’ve experienced firsthand how useful a product with a voice-controlled hinge would be.
This concept was designed with very specific demos in mind. Even with two PCs playing the same video, each acted slightly differently regarding response time and fluidity. It’s called a concept for a reason, but the best part of a concept is imagining how it could change our lives. Many concepts often lack clearly defined use cases — Motorola’s phone as a watch concept at MWC is a good example — but the Lenovo AI Twist PC is different, as it’s clear just how useful it could be.
It also shows that true artificial intelligence is about more than just creating funky graphics, removing objects, and editing to create a specific persona: When done right, AI could help the world embrace technology in new and wonderful ways. I long for a future where technology is truly intelligent, and the Lenovo AI Twist PC is a step toward making that future a reality.