ThinkPad Butterfly: Lenovo might bring back foldable ThinkPad keyboard

[Redaktion]

The IBM ThinkPad 701C with its foldable TrackWrite keyboard, also known as the ThinkPad Butterfly, is one of the most iconic models of the series. The impressive design was only featured in a single model, however. A new patent may be a sign that ThinkPad manufacturer Lenovo is considering to bring back the concept.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/ThinkPad-Butterfly-Lenovo-might-bring-back-foldable-ThinkPad-keyboard.551066.0.html

[anon]

This would be exciting to have come back, even though the Butterfly wasn't as lightweight and thin as my EPC Voyager 3650.

[Laptop Retrospective]

Thanks so much for the shout out! That made my day.

My full article can be found on my website. It contains some further speculation.
laptopretrospective.com

[TheForgottenKing]

I'd love for this to happen, but I doubt it will.

The 10th, 15th, 20th, and 25th anniversary ThinkPads were all essentially "take one of our premium models, put the best specs in it we can, modify the casing a bit, and release it". The 25th anniversary one was the most custom but it was still a top-spec T470 with a custom keyboard.

I'd be surprised if Lenovo came out with an entirely one-off design for the 30th anniversary. I'm expecting either nothing or a standalone keyboard, possibly for the X1 Fold (Gen 2 with Alder Lake maybe??)

[Alan]

"combines the butterfly with Lenovo's current design"? That's a deal breaker for me.

Talk to mechanical keyboard fanatics, and they will speak of custom keycaps. These can be replaced, and some put markings on the front (instead of the top) of the key. Lenovo's latest designs, in the contiuing effort to be asslim as possible, use "chiclet" style keycaps.

An external keyboard is a great idea. Judging by the popularity of 60% layouts, a butterfly could be a hit. But - chiclet keys? That's not going to be good enough.