Remember the Alienware Concept UFO at CES 2020? Well, it looks like Lenovo is looking to continue with a gaming laptop PC of its own. At CES 2021, Lenovo will introduce the LaVie Mini, which, along with an optional accessory bundle, could take mobile PC gaming to the next level. This mini PC would have an 1200-inch 8p display, packed with an Intel Core i7 Tiger Lake processor with Iris Xe graphics. So it wouldn't exactly be capable of running Cyberpunk 2077 with ray tracing, but it should be more than capable of running just about anything on medium settings. Let's be clear, Lenovo presents the LaVie Mini as a prototype and is the result of its association with the NEC company. However, since Intel Xe graphics processors are capable of real gaming performance without the heavy-duty cooling that gaming laptops typically require, we wouldn't be surprised if this one actually hits the market. After all, with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, Lenovo was the first to launch a foldable laptop. Unfortunately, you'll have to shell out extra money for the accessories that would make the LaVie Mini an attractive product. However, we imagine there would be packages to facilitate this in the wallets. Both the game controller and the connected HDMI docking station are considered "optional" accessories, which means that the product is basically an 8-inch laptop, making it look a lot like netbooks. old. CES is traditionally full of fun concept products that may or may never hit the market, but it's always interesting to see where the world of IT can go in the future.
![Concepto OVNI Alienware]()
(Image credit: future)
We need devices like this
Game streaming services like Google Stadia, Microsoft xCloud, and Nvidia GeForce Now are becoming ubiquitous, and portable computing devices are basically the perfect way to enjoy them. Likewise, these streaming services will likely be the best way to play games on small PCs like this, which are limited to integrated graphics. While Intel has made huge improvements to its graphics technology with its Tiger Lake processors, they're still a long way from what a discrete GPU can deliver. Just look at Cyberpunk 2077. No matter what you think, this game is extremely heavy on hardware, to the point where we ran into frame rate issues on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090, originally a desktop graphics card. released on 8K GPU. However, Google Stadia made headlines in December because it was the most accessible way to play games. As the next generation of game consoles matures and system requirements for PC ports start to inflate again (which they have already started), streaming services will likely continue to grow in popularity as they eliminate the need to worry about material. Similarly, owning a device like the LaVie Mini or Alienware Concept UFO would provide a much better gaming experience than playing on a smartphone, thanks to controller attachments. Throw in the more robust external hardware support of Windows 10, and these gaming laptop PCs could be a dream come true for anyone who wants to enjoy these game streaming services. There are already some "gaming" laptops on the market, such as the GPD Win 2, but we'd like to see more widespread adoption of the form factor. Now all that remains is to wait for one of these concepts to hit the market.