At IFA 2024, Lenovo showed off an innovative concept laptop that looks great but doesn’t seem very practical. That’s because the latest Auto Twist laptop is a concept device from Lenovo. Called the Auto Twist AI PC, the device has a motorized hinge that responds to voice commands and automatically rotates its display to follow the user’s movements.

“Lenovo proudly introduces the Lenovo Auto Twist AI PC concept, an innovative leap in personal computing, designed to enhance user interaction through intelligent automation and AI,” Lenovo said.

The most striking feature of this latest laptop is the motorized hinge, which allows it to transform into different modes at the user’s command. These modes are Close Laptop, Laptop Mode, and Tablet Mode. Users can speak a simple voice command and within a few seconds the laptop adjusts itself, although it takes about 10-15 seconds for the motor to complete the transformation. While some may find this delay cumbersome, the practicality of this feature becomes more apparent when moving around during multitasking or video calls.

The “follow-me” feature, powered by facial recognition technology, is particularly impressive. As users move around, the laptop’s display rotates to face them, ensuring they’re always centered in the frame during video calls or when presenting content. It’s a huge leap from Apple’s Center Stage on the iPad.

For those who don’t know, Apple’s Center Stage feature helps automatically adjust the iPad’s front-facing camera so that you and others stay in the frame as you move around. Talking about Lenovo laptops, the company also says that the Smart Lid will automatically close the laptop when it is empty.

While the concept is undoubtedly innovative, the practicality of this device is up for debate. Voice-command transformation and facial-recognition-powered screen rotation sound exciting, but their real-world utility may be limited to specific use cases like video conferencing or presentations. Motorized transformation may be seen as more of a novelty than a must-have feature, especially considering the slight delay in response.

However, if Lenovo refines the mechanics to make the process faster and more intuitive, the Auto Twist AI could represent a real evolution in the way PC users interact with laptops. It is also unclear what hardware will power this concept. The specs of the device are currently kept secret as it is only a concept device.