Intel, Samsung Debut ‘Slidable’ PC With Extendable Screen

Intel and Samsung have another new idea for how to make a PC: a “slidable” device with a screen that extends out to a much larger size when you pull the edge.

Lacking a keyboard, the slidable PC looked more like a tablet. But with a screen diagonal ranging from 13 inches to 17 inches, it was sized more like a laptop. Intel Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger and J.S.

Choi, leader of Samsung’s display division, showed the device at the Intel Innovation conference Tuesday. The device will satisfy needs for both a large screen and portability, Gelsinger said. It’s a demonstration of what’s possible with OLED display technology that’s built onto a flexible plastic substrate.

It isn’t clear when or even if the slidable PC idea will mature into a product. But the design shows how the PC industry continues to try out new hardware to extend beyond traditional clamshell laptops with a keyboard and screen connected by a hinge.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger shows how a “slidable” PC’s screen can extend from a 13-inch diagonal to a 17-inch diagonal.

Stephen Shankland/CNET

Moving parts and flexible components heighten the challenges of complexity and reliability. Costs also increase, a concern during a shrinking PC market.

But novel designs can find a niche, and premium PCs are faring better than budget PCs, Michelle Johnston Holthaus, head of Intel’s PC chip group, said at the conference.

Earlier this year, Samsung demonstrated a slidable phone screen along with other novel designs.

Although the slidable PC prototype didn’t have a keyboard, one could be added as the design matures, for example by folding out from underneath, Holthaus said.