It’s MWC and Lenovo has showcased its proof of concept Yoga Solar PC that can supposedly power itself via the sun. It’s an interesting concept for sure but how practical is it actually? Let’s take a quick look at the Lenovo Yoga Solar PC and what it has to offer!
Lenovo Yoga Solar PC Overview
How does it work?
Lenovo’s Yoga Solar PC features 84 solar cells on its lid that absorb light from the surroundings to power the machine. Lenovo says that these solar cells serve to add some extra battery life to the PC instead of powering it completely.
Sitting in the cafe under direct sunlight for just 20 minutes can generate enough energy to power this Solar PC for up to an hour of video playback. Lenovo has utilized ‘Back Contact Cell’ technology moving the brackets and gridlines to the back of the solar cells to maximize absorption rate. As such, this setup can effectively convert around 24% of the total light to electricity which is in the higher end in terms of efficiency for photovoltaic cells.
The company has also developed a ‘dynamic solar tracking’ system that constantly measures the solar panel’s intake to deliver power to the laptop. This system prioritizes utilizing the solar absorbed energy instead of the laptop’s own battery, extending overall endurance for the user.
The solar panel is detachable too, so you could very well just use (and power) it like a normal computer.
Taking the lid off
So, with the solar panel aside, what have we got? A pretty nice ultrabook I would say. Lenovo’s Yoga Solar PC runs on Intel’s efficient Lunar Lake platform providing you swift and long lasting performance on the daily. It weighs just around 1.22 kg (with the panel) making it portable enough for day-to-day carry without a hassle. It’s not too thick either at just 15mm slim, so safe to say that the panel itself isn’t adding too much of a bulk.
It sounds all exciting, but it’s not every day that you and I use our laptops in the sun, so what is the use then? Well, Lenovo says that the Yoga Solar PC can still make use of the panel even in low light conditions to generate some extra power. Roughly an hour of extra use at the end of an eight hour work day does sound pretty nice!
Lastly, Lenovo also announced the Solar Power Kit as a standalone gadget that can power all your tech devices via the sun. It’s got a foldable design with solar panels and battery attached to it and can deliver power via a Type-C cable.
Lenovo Yoga Solar PC: Few cents
At the end of the day, we are still quite far off from never charging our devices entirely but this does seem like a handy feature to have. The panel itself doesn’t add much of a bulk to the system and it seems viable even if there’s not a ton of light all the time. I could see this being useful while you are out camping or on a work trip where every little bit matters. It’s not going to make you rich rich (full battery), but there are a few cents to enjoy here!
- Meanwhile, check out our buy guide on laptops to buy and skip this spring:
