Lenovo debuts a solar laptop that plays 1 hour of video from 20 minutes of sunlight

An essential feature of a laptop is how long its battery lasts.

Although many laptops are never more than a few feet from an outlet, the appeal of a self-charging device is clear. It's like an insurance policy; there's peace-of-mind in knowing that even if you never have to use it, it's there if you need it.

Enter the solar-powered laptop. It's been tried before, but Lenovo might have just debuted something truly innovative.

Lenovo on Sunday unveiled a proof-of-concept laptop ahead of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

The Yoga Solar PC concept uses solar panels on the laptop's lid, covered by a glossy glass cover, to give it power. But the laptop is more than good looks: Lenovo is prioritizing the conversion of sunlight to battery life in its messaging around this new device.

"What we're saying right now is about 20 minutes of direct sunlight is going to be the equivalent of about an hour of video playback," a Lenovo rep tells Laptop Mag.

The Yoga Solar PC is 15mm thick, has a 14-inch display, and weighs 1.22kg. Its back cover incorporates 84 solar cells, keeping it ultrathin.

Is solar the answer to your portable power needs?

Lenovo wants to make a machine that works anywhere there is sunlight, and the Yoga Solar PC is its attempt at a sun-powered notebook — the latest go at a concept that other companies have tried before.

The laptop uses back-contact cell technology, which is slightly more efficient than typical solar panels. Lenovo says the panels on the Yoga Solar have a 24.3% conversion rate — higher than the average of 21% — and can absorb ambient light, sunlight, or any light source above 0.3 watts, equivalent to an LED night light.

The company is tweaking the technology to improve the conversion rate and achieve greater efficiency. (The world record is currently 47%.) Lenovo also made the solar panels more aesthetically pleasing by giving them a sleek look instead of the typical solar panel grid appearance.

However, don't get ready to pre-order the Yoga Solar PC yet. This solar laptop is still a concept, and what Laptop Mag saw last month during a preview event may be significantly different than the product that may come to market in a few years.

Lenovo faces challenges before its solar laptop becomes a reality and is put in consumers' hands. One of the big ones is heat management. The laptop can be powered by the sun, but too much exposure to direct sunlight can cause it to overheat. This means leaving the laptop in the sun for an extended period while relaxing or in a hot car could be a problem. Lenovo reps tell Laptop Mag those potential issues are still being researched.

The company is also investigating ways to make it charge even faster. One possibility is to expand the number of solar panels to absorb even more light, perhaps via USB-C ports. That is also a possibility being explored.

It's unclear when Lenovo will work out the kinks to release the Yoga Solar, but the concept works. The prototype Laptop Mag viewed has software that shows in near-real-time how much sunlight is being converted into energy when the laptop is catching some rays. And, if you cover the solar panel, you'll see the numbers tick downward.

Solar laptops have been tried before

As interesting and game-changing as the concept of a solar-powered laptop may be, it's actually not a new idea. In fact, Laptop Mag reported on the Sol laptop more than a decade ago.

The Sol laptop was way ahead of its time while also being a relic of the 2010s. It came with an Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, while using Ubuntu, an open-source operating system based on Linux, to run it. It took only two hours of sunlight to operate the laptop with its 13.3-inch LCD screen for 10 hours. It's pretty clear that advancements in solar and computer technology have expanded what laptops can do with solar power.