Lenovo knows a thing or two about modular design; iconic brand Motorola tried to popularize the concept, first as part of Google with Project Ara (opens in new tab) then as a Lenovo subsidiary with the Moto Z (opens in new tab) range and its Moto Mods (opens in new tab).
Now, Lenovo has submitted a modular laptop concept, called Rapid, to the prestigious Red Dot design award (via another subsidiary, Hefei LCFC Information Technology).
It was commended by the judging panel for setting "standards in terms of sustainability" thanks to its "intelligent modular concept, [which] makes an important contribution to the conservation of resources.”
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According to the blurb, the Rapid features core components that can be easily exchanged, such as the processor, memory and I/O ports. “This allows the user to adapt the device to increasing demands without having to replace the entire laptop," explains the rundown.
A USB module can also be swapped for an HDMI or Thunderbolt 3 version. Whether this is more practical or faster than having a many-ports-in-1 USB hub remains to be seen.
That said, the wedged design of the Rapid is jaw droppingly beautiful and, while we hate the fact it has no visible webcam, we can only applaud the bold decision to include a touchpad…on the right of the keyboard.
Many (opens in new tab) before (opens in new tab) have tried (opens in new tab) to launch a modular laptop (and failed miserably), so while the concept is interesting, the commercial and practical reality is likely to be a bit less earth-shattering.
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Via Red Dot (opens in new tab)
