Lenovo Unveils an Attachable AI Agent 'Companion' for Their Laptops (cnet.com) 35
As the Mobile World Conference begins in Spain, Lenovo brought a new attachable accessory for their laptops — an AI agent. CNET reports:
The little circular module perches on the top of your Lenovo laptop display, attached via the magnetic Magic Bay on the rear. The module is home to an adorable animated companion called Tiko, who you can interact with via text or voice... [I]t can start and stop your music, open a web page for you or answer a question. You can also interact with it by using emoji. Give it a book emoji, for example, and it will pop on its glasses and sit reading with you while you work... The company wants to sell the Magic Bay accessory later this year — although it doesn't know exactly when, or how much it will cost.
It even comes with a timer (for working in Pomodoro-style intervals) — but Lenovo has also created another "concept" AI companion that CNET describes as "a kind of stationary tabletop robot, not dissimilar to the Pixar lamp, but with an orb for a head." With a combination of cameras, microphones and projectors, the AI Workmate can undertake a variety of tasks, including helping you generate and display presentations or turn your written work or art into a digital asset... It's robotic head swivelled around and projected the slides onto the wall next to me.
Lenovo created a video to show this "next-generation AI work companion" — with animated eyes — "designed to transform how modern professionals interact with their workspace." It bridges the physical and digital worlds — capturing handwritten notes, recognizing gestures, summarizing tasks, and proactively helping you stay ahead of your day. The moment you sit down, Lenovo AI Workmate greets you, surfaces priority tasks, and keeps your work organized without switching apps or losing context. From turning sketches into presentations to projecting information for instant collaboration, [it] brings on-device AI intelligence directly to your desk — secure, responsive, and always ready... It's not just software. It's a smarter way to work.
It looks like Lenovo once considered naming it "AI Sphere" (since that name still appears in its description on YouTube).
Lenovo also showed another "concept" laptop idea that PC Magazine called "futuristic": The ThinkBook Modular AI PC looks like a traditional laptop at first glance, but a second, removable screen fastens onto the lid. You can swap that screen onto the keyboard deck (in place of the keyboard, which can then be used wirelessly), or use it alongside the laptop as a portable monitor, attached via an included cable.... While Lenovo is still working on this device, and it's very much in the concept phase, it feels like one of its best-thought-out prototypes, one likely to make it to store shelves at some point.
Another "concept" laptop is Lenovo's Yoga Book Pro 3D Concept, ofering directional backlight and eye-tracking technology for the illusion of 3D (playing slightly different images to each of your eyes). It offers gesture control for 3D models, two OLED displays, and some magical "snap-on pads" which, when laid on the display — make the GUI appear on the screen for a new control menu to "provide quick-access shortcuts for adjusting lighting, viewing angle, and tone".
It even comes with a timer (for working in Pomodoro-style intervals) — but Lenovo has also created another "concept" AI companion that CNET describes as "a kind of stationary tabletop robot, not dissimilar to the Pixar lamp, but with an orb for a head." With a combination of cameras, microphones and projectors, the AI Workmate can undertake a variety of tasks, including helping you generate and display presentations or turn your written work or art into a digital asset... It's robotic head swivelled around and projected the slides onto the wall next to me.
Lenovo created a video to show this "next-generation AI work companion" — with animated eyes — "designed to transform how modern professionals interact with their workspace." It bridges the physical and digital worlds — capturing handwritten notes, recognizing gestures, summarizing tasks, and proactively helping you stay ahead of your day. The moment you sit down, Lenovo AI Workmate greets you, surfaces priority tasks, and keeps your work organized without switching apps or losing context. From turning sketches into presentations to projecting information for instant collaboration, [it] brings on-device AI intelligence directly to your desk — secure, responsive, and always ready... It's not just software. It's a smarter way to work.
It looks like Lenovo once considered naming it "AI Sphere" (since that name still appears in its description on YouTube).
Lenovo also showed another "concept" laptop idea that PC Magazine called "futuristic": The ThinkBook Modular AI PC looks like a traditional laptop at first glance, but a second, removable screen fastens onto the lid. You can swap that screen onto the keyboard deck (in place of the keyboard, which can then be used wirelessly), or use it alongside the laptop as a portable monitor, attached via an included cable.... While Lenovo is still working on this device, and it's very much in the concept phase, it feels like one of its best-thought-out prototypes, one likely to make it to store shelves at some point.
Another "concept" laptop is Lenovo's Yoga Book Pro 3D Concept, ofering directional backlight and eye-tracking technology for the illusion of 3D (playing slightly different images to each of your eyes). It offers gesture control for 3D models, two OLED displays, and some magical "snap-on pads" which, when laid on the display — make the GUI appear on the screen for a new control menu to "provide quick-access shortcuts for adjusting lighting, viewing angle, and tone".
detachable (Score:5, Funny)
I woke up this morning with a bad hangover
And my Agent was missing again
This happens all the time
It's detachable
This comes in handy a lot of the time
I can leave it home when I think it's going to get me in trouble
Or I can rent it out when I don't need it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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You just know they're going to manufacture the dongles as cute anime plushies.
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Right, stop that -- it's silly (Score:3)
Tech manufacturers need a good talking-to from Monty Python's Colonel [youtu.be]. The products they are displaying aren't useful; they're just silly.
Re:Right, stop that -- it's silly (Score:5, Insightful)
Dear Lenovo,
Thankyou for your cool new AI assistant. Now, how do I disable it?
Love, a user.
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Dear Lenovo,
Thankyou for your cool new AI assistant. Now, how do I disable it?
Love, a user.
You needn't even read the summary to answer your question. It's right there in the title - "attachable" implies "detachable", right?
That said, I agree with your basic sentiment. I use a Lenovo because it has a Trackpoint and a great keyboard, and it's Linux-friendly. I'd have about as much use for a cute AI add-on as I have for Windows 11.
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You needn't even read the summary to answer your question. It's right there in the title - "attachable" implies "detachable", right?
Well, right now it's still detachable. You have seen how the AI sloppers handle this, right?
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If computer manufacturers are going to start including another "system" with their computers, what I'd actually want to see is an independent system-on-board snapshotting file server with its own independent memory and OS which the main computer acts as a client of, with deletion of snapshots requiring pressing a physical button to switch to the file server.
Instead of gimmicks, if we were to make something like that standard, we could effectively kill off ransomware; all it could do was fill up your disk un
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On the plus side; now that fairly extensive virtualization support is effectively mandatory even in consumer gear, you could probably get most of the benefits of such a system without needing explicit vendor support. It'd be cleaner if you had it and the firmware were aware of the arrangement; but a totall
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Lenovo doesn't know how to "improve" the laptop. They tried adding another screen just above the keyboard, but that is (a) not in a useful position and (b) makes typing harder because you can't rest your wrists on the laptop. It also means your trackpad is small and off to the side.
They've tried touch screens too - nice for about 5 minutes, but actually not something you need very often. It's one of those features we'll have if it's free, but otherwise we'll probably be just fine without.
They've tried makin
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Fortunately, the AI posers are doubling every couple of weeks.
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Open claw has shown that real agents are now possible.
It has shown that real shitty agents are now possible. Ones that may randomly begin to delete your files or emails, wipe your git-repos, expose your credentials by posting them in the wrong places and in general falling for rather easy prompt injection attacks.
Re:Useful agents are now possible (Score:4, Interesting)
Open claw has shown that real agents are now possible.
I take it you missed this story? https://techcrunch.com/2026/02... [techcrunch.com]
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adorable animated companion called Tiko (Score:2)
An A.I. clippy. We knew this was gonna happen (Score:5, Insightful)
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"Looks like you want to kill yourself, would you like some help with that?"
"Looks like you want to kill me, would you like some help with that?"
That's the kind of help I'd be happy to have!
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Clippy, you're all grown up!
Give it a cute little name (Score:5, Interesting)
3D Clippy? (Score:2)
Da Fuq? (Score:2)
What is the market for this? Which demographic is so utterly pathetic as to want this, yet also has the disposable income to buy it? I have some magic beans to sell them.
Could be worse. (Score:3)
"Adorable", seriously? (Score:2)
Do they think we are all 10 years old?
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what kind of monster are you?!
Agent??? (Score:2)
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Agent had a meaning before people started building the bots the allegedly do everything on their own. In that context agent just means that it does not only provide an answer, but can also stop your music. It has agency, if you're searching where the term comes from.
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AI-washing
agent is useless atm, but those laptops (Score:1)
The agent is useless atm, but those laptops are really innovative, even if not usable right now they can definitely evolve into something good.
Very few companies are trying new innovations with phones or laptops, most are happy to just add another camera so its good to see lenovo trying these bat shit crazy laptop models !
Samsung does try new types of phones with its foldables but mostly limited to display innovation, they haven't even changed that boring S series design since 5 years. Sole reason i went to