Lenovo is testing glasses-free computers with a ring controller.
www.theverge.com
Lenovo’s new ThinkBook 3D Laptop Concept and Hybrid Dimensional 34-inch Curved Monitor Concept, announced at Mobile World Congress 2025, use directional backlighting and head tracking to simultaneously show 2D and 3D content without glasses. An accompanying AI Ring concept can be worn to control them with gesture-based spatial controls. It sounds like Leia’s tech, but Lenovo reps would not confirm during my short demo. Maybe 3D is coming back? (I doubt it.) [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/257550_Lenovo_MWC_2025_laptop_preview_ADiBenedetto_0012.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/257550_Lenovo_MWC_2025_laptop_preview_ADiBenedetto_0013.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/257550_Lenovo_MWC_2025_laptop_preview_ADiBenedetto_0015.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/257550_Lenovo_MWC_2025_laptop_preview_ADiBenedetto_0014.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/257550_Lenovo_MWC_2025_laptop_preview_ADiBenedetto_0019.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/7-ThinkBook-3D-Laptop-Concept.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/257550_Lenovo_MWC_AJohnson_0005.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/5-AI-Ring.jpg?quality=90&strip=all]
  • MudMan@fedia.io
    3·
    22 hours ago

    Was it your first Nintendo handheld, then? Because man, is that their default play. I say, sitting on my pile of Game Boy Light, Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo DSi, New Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch OLED Editions.

    But seriously, it works very well, it feels like magic and the bigger screen is also pretty good for how old and low-res it is. I have one sitting on my bedside table right now. If anything would sell me on a laptop using the same tech is the New 3DS.

    I just don’t know that the PC ecosystem would have the software support for it.

      • MudMan@fedia.io
        3·
        21 hours ago

        Man, for a thing that sold 75 million units and ended up with a pretty great game library some people really latched on to being mad about it at launch and just never moved past that.

        It may well be the console with the biggest gap between performance and performative negative opinion online ever. I would have said neck and neck with the PSP a few years ago, but it really feels like that got reassessed after the fact through emulation.

        • FooBarrington@lemmy.worldEnglish
          11·
          21 hours ago

          I’m not mad, I was simply disappointed enough by the original 3DS that I didn’t want to spend more money on a different version of it.

          Is it somehow important to you that people like it?

          • MudMan@fedia.io
            3·
            21 hours ago

            Not particularly, but if we’re discussing the idea of bringing this display technology back I do have a vested interest in knee-jerk rejection of its use on the 3DS not misrepresenting the potential.

            This is the absolute best way to do stereo 3D, at least for single user devices, it works and it’s built on well understood technology. I get that people were mad at the OG 3DS, mostly as part of a bit of a mob mentality memetic rejection of 3D TVs, but this is genuinely cool tech I would like to have access to again.

              • MudMan@fedia.io
                2·
                20 hours ago

                Man, yeah. Mario 3D World, the Sega M2 3D conversions of retro games…

                I don’t think the native PC software support would be there for something like this, but at least having a viable way to properly emulate the 3DS without having to rig something with a VR headset would be great.

            • FooBarrington@lemmy.worldEnglish
              21·
              20 hours ago

              I get that people were mad at the OG 3DS, mostly as part of a bit of a mob mentality memetic rejection of 3D TVs

              Not sure why you’re bringing this up in a discussion where multiple people have given other reasons for “being mad” (or, more objectively, disliking) the OG 3DS.

              You’re acting in pretty bad faith.

              • MudMan@fedia.io
                3·
                20 hours ago

                The only thing I’ve seen mentioned is the bad stability of the stereoscopy and the narrow viewing angle of the original model, which was solved with the same eye tracking solution we see here. The entire conversation is spawning from my surprise at people seemingly being unaware that happened or assuming it hadn’t worked.

                There was legitimate criticism at launch about the initial library, but obviously we’re not arguing about that here (and it definitely got corrected over time).

                • FooBarrington@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  21·
                  20 hours ago

                  The only thing I’ve seen mentioned is the bad stability of the stereoscopy and the narrow angle of the original model, which was solved with the same eye tracking solution we see here.

                  Yes, and I’ve explained to you that many people probably never tried the fixed version. So why say “people are just repeating what they’re heard about 3D TVs”? You’re attributing an infantilizing explanation to all those who disagree, when a more logical and direct explanation was already given.

                  • MudMan@fedia.io
                    3·
                    20 hours ago

                    Was it?

                    Look, you seem very keen on having an argument about this, but this conversation so far boils down to:

                    -3DS did this well. -No, it didn’t. -Oh, I meant the New 3DS that made it better. I didn’t realize people didn’t know about that one. -People probably didn’t know about that one.

                    While we’re at it, the 3DS sold 75 million units. There are probably way more people out there who tested a New 3DS than a Dreamcast.

                    EDIT: Made me check. 10 million units, as per Wikipedia. I would have guessed higher, but hey, I was still right, it’s more than the Dreamcast.