Portable PC gaming is big business right now, what with the number of handhelds springing up and gaming laptops packing more of a punch than ever. With portability comes two major sacrifices though; screen size and battery.
It looks like Lenovo wants to solve the former, potentially at the expense of the latter.
The brand looks set to bring its rollable display technology to the world of the best gaming laptops in 2026, as reported by Windows Latest. First debuted on the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Rollable earlier this year, the brand has developed an expandable screen that can extend at just the push of a button. The only difference on this proposed Legion rig, is that screen runs horizontally into a full ultrawide experience.
That means you're maintaining the 16:9 aspect ratio that many machines have abandoned in the last few years in efforts to squeeze as much screen space into as compact a footprint as possible. Say goodbye to black lines, and hello to full fields of view.
That's the concept anyway. So far, gaming laptop brands like Asus, Razer, and Alienware have all opted for larger 18-inch machines to provide a more immersive gaming experience in a clamshell design. What happens when you go all in on screen size, though? You lose the portability that you bought the gaming laptop for in the first place.
These larger rigs are generally well over 3kg, rarely fit in more comfortable backpacks, and are best stuck on a desk.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (RTX 5090) | $3,999.99 (was $4,499.99) at Best Buy
And yet it looks like the rumored rollable Legion is still a larger gal. Images shared by Windows Latest point to the machine existing as an 18-incher, with even more screen space to unfurl. Of course, I'm only basing this guess on the fact that there's a pretty decently spaced full-sized keyboard on early product images, a hallmark of the bigger machine. It's an easy starting point, but really it's the 14-inch market that's crying out for this kind of versatility.
Gaming laptops are only just starting to get a handle on their battery consumption, and the vast majority still need to be in close quarters with a power outlet. The 18-inch form factor even more so. Not only that, but the original ThinkBook Plus Rollable tanked its own battery life with that larger screen. It's unlikely the Legion will win any endurance awards.
Right now we've got rumors of a chunkier model with an ultrawide display whenever we need it, and an Intel Core Ultra processor. With a few years of evolution under its belt, I'm hopeful Lenovo can produce the gaming laptop we actually need. A 14-inch, compact machine that can extend its screen when required without dropping the battery too much. A girl can dream.
If the rumors above are true, we could well see more from the rollable Legion at CES next year. It's also worth keeping an eye on the best Asus gaming laptops and best Alienware laptops in January, as well as the best Razer laptops.
