Introduction to Solar-Powered Laptops

You may be surprised to discover that the first laptop with built-in solar panels is nearly 15 years old. However, what’s more astonishing is that despite the recent advancements in photovoltaic cells, manufacturers haven’t revisited this idea more frequently. Nevertheless, at MWC 2025, Lenovo is reviving this concept with its Yoga Solar PC Concept.

Design and Specifications of the Yoga Solar PC Concept

Weighing 2.6 pounds and measuring less than 0.6 inches thick, the Yoga Solar PC Concept is roughly the same size as a standard 14-inch clamshell. Since its underlying design isn’t drastically different from Lenovo’s standard Yoga family, it doesn’t compromise on specs either. It features an OLED display, up to 32GB of RAM, a decent-sized 50.2 WHr battery, and even a 2MP IR webcam for use with Windows Hello.

Solar Panel Technology and Efficiency

However, all those components aren’t as crucial as the solar cells embedded in its lid. Lenovo states that the panels utilize Back Contact Cell technology, allowing the mounting brackets and gridlines to be placed on the rear of the cells. This enables the panels to offer up to 24 percent solar energy conversion, which is impressive, matching the efficiency of many high-end home solar systems. Furthermore, the PC also supports Dynamic Solar Tracking to automatically adjust the cells’ settings to maximize the amount of energy they can gather.

Solar Power Generation and Battery Life

Lenovo claims that this means the Yoga Solar PC can generate enough juice to play an hour of videos after only 20 minutes in the sun. What might be more remarkable is that even when the laptop is indoors, it can still harvest power from as little as 0.3 watts of light to help top off its battery. To help users understand how much power it’s gathering, Lenovo created a bespoke app to track how much light the panels absorb.

Commercial Viability and Prototype Experience

Unfortunately, Lenovo doesn’t have any plans to turn this concept into a full commercial device. However, after interacting with it, I was pleasantly surprised to see how solid and sturdy its chassis felt. Unlike many prototype devices, the Yoga Solar PC Concept doesn’t feel like a significant technological stretch compared to other notebooks on sale today. Its PV cells sit safely behind a sheet of glass (or possibly plastic, Lenovo wouldn’t confirm which one) while also adding a bit of distinctive visual flair.

Challenges and Future Prospects

However, the biggest hurdle (and possibly a significant reason why we haven’t seen more laptops like this) is that for people who want to use solar panels to charge their devices, it’s probably easier and more versatile to rely on a standalone solar array instead of something built-in to the gadget itself. Regardless, Lenovo’s Yoga Solar PC is a surprisingly polished concept that I’d love to see get more attention in the future.