Lenovo's foldable ThinkPad X1 Fold may not be ready for prime-time yet

Foldable screens have been a big topic this year, as multiple foldable smartphones have been released. Design-wise, they have been a breath of fresh air, but the reliability of devices like the Samsung Galaxy Fold or Motorola Razr remains questionable.

Lenovo made headlines last year when it teased the first PC with a foldable screen. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold was officially announced at CES 2020. The device features a flexible 13.3 inch OLED panel in the 4:3 aspect ratio as well as Intel Lakefield CPUs. Most important for a foldable is certainly the reliability and durability and Lenovo was confident that its ThinkPad engineers would deliver a device that could survive everyday use. The original release-date for the ThinkPad X1 Fold: Summer 2020.

Summer is not quite here yet, but it seems clear already that Lenovo will not be able to deliver the finished product in the promised time-frame. In late April, a ThinkPad product roadmap leaked that showed the ThinkPad X1 Fold with a planned release in the fourth quarter of 2020 (October to December), not in the summer. 

Luiz Hernandez, Vice President of Lenovo, has now confirmed on Twitter that Lenovo is continuing its work on the ThinkPad X1 Fold: He posted a picture of an ThinkPad X1 Fold in what appear to be his office. According to his post, the unit is a prototype and Lenovo "still need to do more ThinkPad testing".

As a high-end ThinkPad that will cost $2,499, it probably is a good idea for Lenovo to make sure that this product is as perfect as it can get. After all, it will probably be used by managers and CEOs around the world and that is a group of customers a manufacturer does not want to anger.