Lenovo's next 27-inch 4K monitor is unlike any display it has released before. Featuring a lenticular lens and real-time eye-tracking, it's a 3D monitor that doesn't require any glasses. Other companies are already pushing stereoscopic products, but Lenovo's ThinkVision 27 3D Monitor, announced at the IFA conference today, takes the glasses-free experience to a bigger screen.
The technology behind Lenovo's 3D monitor and the accompanying software, 3D Explorer, are proprietary, a Lenovo spokesperson confirmed to Ars. 3D Explorer includes a 3D player and SDK for building 3D apps. Lenovo is targeting the monitor and app at content creators, like 3D graphic designers and developers.
Like other glasses-less 3D screens, the ThinkVision works by projecting two different images to each of your eyes, resulting in a 3D effect where, as PR images would have you believe, it appears that the images are popping out of the screen. Lenovo says the monitor's 3D resolution is 1920×2160. The lenticular lens in the monitor is switchable, allowing for normal, 2D viewing at 3840×2160, too.
I asked Lenovo's spokesperson how Lenovo's technology differs from the Simulated Reality glasses-free 3D platform from Netherlands-based company Dimenco used by Acer, Asus, and others. The rep said they weren't familiar enough with the products to make a comparison. But at least in the case of real products, the ThinkVision's design stands out from Acer's glasses-free 3D portable monitors and Acer and Asus' 3D laptops.
The ThinkVision's 27-inch display gives workers a bigger palette. It also means the monitor can be a regular 2D monitor when needed.
PCMag had a "brief demo" with Lenovo's upcoming monitor, viewing a red race car model "suspended in 3D," representing a potential use case for creators. The publication said the 3D was impressive and the monitor "would no doubt be useful to those who spend lots of time building 3D objects in software."