Mike Peterson
Apple may not release a foldable iPhone until 2025 at the earliest, but the company is rumored to be investigating foldable screens for a future MacBook Pro, according to display analysts.
In a new report detailing foldable smartphones, Display Supply Chain Consultants has pushed back its release expectations for an "iPhone Fold" device until 2025. Previously, DSCC believed that an Apple handset with a folding display could arrive in 2023.
DSCC updated its release timeline based on discussions with sources in the supply chain. According to the firm, Apple "does not appear to be in a hurry to enter the foldable smartphone market, and it may even take longer than [2025]."
The display analysts, however, said they've received word that Apple is now interested in developing some type of foldable notebook in the 20-inch range.
"This size could create a new category for Apple and would result in a true dual use product, a notebook with a full-size keyboard when folded and for use as a monitor when not folded and used with an external keyboard," the analysts wrote. "It may also allow for UHD/4K resolution or even higher at that size. The time frame is likely later than 2025 though, it could be 2026 or 2027."
DSCC, which is run by analyst Ross Young, has an excellent track record of accurate information regarding Apple's display plans. The company has correctly predicted a number of display-related features in Apple's recent lineup.
Even if Apple's folding devices are years away, the firm says that they will be "good news" for the foldable space as a whole.
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21 Comments
A MacBook with a folding screen? One of the sillier rumours I've run across in a long time.
McBook is already a folding tablet, nyahahahaha
I'm all in on foldable tablet+laptop+monitor. I would use it all modes.
Using a 20" 3:2 folding display, and folding it half, or unfolding it 360° from a closed clamshell position, it can act as a 13.6" 4:3 tablet. It will be heavy (3 lb) and thick (0.5"), but can be used in bed, on coach, etc, to web browse, read books, tablet-based things.
Unfold it 180 and dock it vertically, it can act as a 20" touchscreen iMac. With a nice external display, keyboard and trackpad, you are all set for working at a desk. If you need a big drawing canvas, it can also be laid flat on a desk, and you can use a stylus to draw, take notes, diagram, etc. You can also use it as an input device, where you use a software keyboard and software trackpad to control things on an external display.
Then, unfolded 160° to 110° (from a clamshell position), it can act as a laptop. You are using it like a laptop, with a software keyboard on one side, presumably, a purposefully heavier side. It really has to be weighted asymmetrically, with one side a lot heavier than the other for it to be stable in laptop mode.
The big trick of course is how the display will behave at the hinge. Ideally it won't have a crease, and it will need to be taut when at the 180° position.
I'd think if Apple do a folding mac like thing with a touch screen it would be a new product launch. New Name new line maybe wipe out iPadPro and MacBook over time.
Maybe why iPadOS has been soooooooooooooooooo.......... veeeerrrrrrrryyyyyyy slow at meeting the potential of the device. New OS that isn't macOS or iOS but the best of both and compatible if the app is best of breed and minimal legacy.
A folding iPhone? No way. Folding phones have already jumped the shark, no one is buying them, they are a failed market. Sure, there are always a few who will buy anything just to be different but folding phones have not caught on at all.