Apple is rumored to start manufacturing a new foldable version of its MacBook laptops within three years, an analyst has revealed.
Technology analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said foldable laptops are expected to go into mass production in 2027, ahead of foldable iPhones and iPads, which he initially predicted would be in “2025 or 2026.” We expect it to be released on the market first.
“According to my latest research, Apple’s only foldable product with a clear development schedule at this time is the 20.3-inch MacBook,” Kuo wrote in the article. X Post on Wednesdaytranslated from Chinese to English.
Kuo is a noted technology industry analyst who has previously made accurate predictions about Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro release and other product developments, but in a post earlier reported by Business Insider. He did not elaborate on what “foldable” meant.
Technically, the MacBook is already foldable, as it opens and closes on a hinge like any other laptop.
But he suspects he means the upcoming version of the MacBook will be a “hybrid” laptop that folds into a tablet.
The day after Kuo’s X post, Apple published a patent application for an “electronic device with a folding display.”
every documentfiled on November 10, 2023, Apple said that “when the device is folded, the display panel may be configured to bend along a bending axis.” Seeking copyright for electronic devices that may have the potential.
According to BI, if the device boasts a 20.3-inch screen as Kuo suggests, it will be Apple’s largest laptop screen to date.
The largest laptop, the MacBook Pro, touts a 16-inch display, while its desktop version, the iMac, starts at 21.5 inches.
The patent application offered few details about what the foldable device would look like, but users didn’t seem too excited about the prospect.
“Apple is falling even further behind in innovation,” says one X user. Said Reply to Kuo.
There are already several laptops on the market that can be converted into tablets, including rivals Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio 2 and Lenovo’s Yoga model.
“Unless you have something original you’ll get lost in a sea of foldables. It has no white space,” said another user Saidwhile the third There’s a chime: “Probably still not as good as Samsung’s foldable devices.”
Apple representatives did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Reports that Apple would produce a foldable device, which has long been rumored, date back to 2016. At the time, the Cupertino, California-based tech giant had patented the first ceramic iPhone with the ability to fold across its width like a clamshell.
And in 2021, tech product review site Tom’s Guide reported that Apple asked manufacturer Foxconn to create two prototype shells to test possible future iPhone designs.
The two designs are very different, but Tom’s Guide reportedOne has a large display that folds in half, and the other has two separate screens connected by a hinge.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Apple plans to launch a foldable phone or is experimenting to find the best design. In any case, Apple’s similar device is not yet on the market.
