The ThinkBook Plus Gen 7 Auto Twist may be a mouthful to say, but the concept is a simple one: it’s a laptop that can recognize you and swivels itself to face you.
Why? Because not everyone sits at their desk. Lenovo’s new ThinkBook might be useful for lecturers walking around a stage or simply for those people who can’t help but pace during a video call. And if that’s not enough, the laptop can pop up at your command.
If you’ve been following Lenovo, you probably are familiar with the company’s ongoing proofs-of-concept, which generally evolve into actual products. That’s the case for the ThinkBook Plus Gen 7 Auto Twist, which my colleague Chris Martin of Tech Advisor saw Lenovo show off in 2024. Today, Lenovo is announcing it as a product, shipping in June 2026 for a starting price of $1,649.
Lenovo has shown off similar concepts in the past: at CES 2025, for example, Lenovo showed off a display that could twist and track your face as you moved, presenting the display at an optimal angle. That’s the same concept as the Auto Twist. It swivels, and opens and closes so that the screen is facing you at all times. It’s similar to the OBSBOT webcams I’ve reviewed for PCWorld, which have an independent gimbal that allows the camera to twist and turn to follow your face.
While I didn’t have a chance to test the original proof of concept, Lenovo now says that the electromagnetic motors inside the Auto Twist are quieter than before. They’re certainly not silent, however. Lenovo also showed off the laptop’s ability to respond to gestures and even spoken commands.
Otherwise, the new ThinkBook Auto Twist is very similar to the other business and consumer laptops Lenovo is showing off here at CES 2026. Inside the 14-inch ThinkBook is an Intel Core Ultra Series 3, code-named Panther Lake. The display itself is a 2.8K touchscreen OLED, with a 120Hz refresh rate and one capable of pumping out 500 nits of brightness. Frankly, I was surprised that Lenovo seems committed to giving this ThinkBook premium specs: up to 32GB of LPDDR5x DDR5 memory, and up to 2TB of M.2 2280 PCIe SSD storage. Of course, who knows what they’ll cost, given the ongoing memory shortage which has driven DRAM and storage prices through the roof.
Inside is a 75 watt-hour battery, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth, paired with a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports. The notebook weighs in at 3.09 pounds.
I didn’t have time to really dig into the the ThinkBook, though my brief hands-on showed that it worked as advertised. I’m a little curious to see how sensitive it will be over time, reacting to minor head movements and glances between multiple displays. I’d also agree with Chris Martin’s assessment that it might be a little jerky when moving around the room, leading to a rough experience to whoever you’re talking to.
Sure, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 7 Auto Twist might be a bit niche. Maybe even weird. But everyone still wrestles with laptops and webcams that don’t always show your face, directly facing the camera. Lenovo’s ongoing work in this area may continue to pay dividends down the road.
Author: Mark Hachman
Source: PCWorld
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
