Lenovo is announcing a new concept laptop for IFA 2026 that uses solid-state cooling instead of traditional fans, making it incredibly thin and super light. The 14-inch Project AeroBlade concept laptop is less than 10mm thick and weighs under 1.8 pounds / 830g. For reference, recent ThinkPad X1 Carbons are around 14mm at their thickest and weigh about 1kg / 2.2 pounds.
The AeroBlade is essentially a ThinkBook built around Frore’s AirJet technology, which uses piezo electric membranes to force air through the chassis without any fans or other moving parts. The solid-state cooling means the AeroBlade Concept is as nearly as quiet as a MacBook Air, but with active cooling.
That hasn’t changed yet with the AeroBlade concept, of course, but partnering with Lenovo on a business laptop could mean that solid-state cooling is a little closer to widespread adoption. In addition to enabling Lenovo to build such a thin and light business laptop, the incorporated Frore tech means the AeroBlade has no vents on the bottom. And dust coming into the system should be minimized, which should be beneficial for long-term use.
Lenovo is light on specs, because it’s a concept, but the AeroBlade in its current form is built on an Intel Lunar Lake chip with Thunderbolt 4 ports, Wi-Fi 7, and an OLED display. Lenovo communications director Jeff Witt, told me that if it comes to market the AeroBlade would likely get a newer chip.
The ThinkBook Project AeroBlade Concept I got to see up close in an early demo was as impressively thin and light as it sounds. I could lift the laptop from its corner with just my thumb and index finger. Having tested and reviewed several fanless laptops like Apple’s MacBook Airs, the MacBook Neo, and Microsoft’s 12-inch Surface Pro, the thought of using one that’s almost as quiet but with the added performance benefit of active cooling sounds, well, pretty cool.
Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge