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Lenovo AeroBlade imagines a laptop as thin as a foldable phone, thanks to solid-state cooling

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Lenovo Aeroblade laptop design concept.
Lenovo
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This story is part of our coverage of IFA Berlin 2026

Lenovo is no stranger to wild concept laptops, but they usually focus on over-the-top ideas such as a rollable expanding screen, a secondary display on the lid, and more. At IFA 2026, Lenovo showcased its Aeroblade proof-of-concept laptop, with a side profile that is “under 10 mm thick.” For comparison, the ultra-sleek Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 offers a waistline of 9.7 mm, while the iPhone 17 Pro comes in at 8.75mm.

To go with the svelte profile, the laptop will also be pretty featherweight, tipping the scales at merely 830 grams. For comparison, Apple’s infamous 12-inch MacBook was just 13.1 millimeters across at its thickest point. The secret sauce to achieving this thin and light profile on a laptop? Solid-state active cooling, which replaces the bulk and space allowance reserved for cooling fans.

“Enabled by Lenovo’s breakthrough Active Flow thermal solution, developed in collaboration with Frore Systems, the Project AeroBlade concept replaces traditional fan-based cooling with a solid-state active cooling architecture powered by AirJet technology,” says the company.

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Removing the active fan solves a whole bunch of problems. First, it frees up precious vertical space, which helps achieve a sleek enclosure. Second, it fixes the noise problem from the constant whirring of the built-in fan every time you push a laptop to extract more performance. And finally, it’s one less moving part that also spares you the nuisance of dust accumulation.

The laptops built atop the Project AeroBlade concept designs won’t skip practical conveniences, though. Lenovo says these machines will offer sharp OLED screens, a sleek and sturdy magnesium-aluminum chassis, Thunderbolt 4 ports, and fast Wi-Fi 7 wireless connectivity. As far as the firepower goes, Lenovo is starting with Intel’s Core Ultra 7 (Series 2) processors, but apart from a vague “coming soon” status on its media site, the company hasn’t given any timeline for the market arrival of laptops built atop the AeroBlade concept design.

Nadeem Sarwar
Nadeem is the Managing Editor at Digital Trends.
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