6 things you need to know about Apple's upcoming folding MacBooks
Key aspects of Apple's upcoming foldable MacBooks: what you need to know (photo: Unsplash)
Several reliable sources report that Apple is developing a MacBook with a foldable screen. It could be Apple's first foldable device, beating out even the foldable iPhone, according to MacRumors.
Design
A distinctive feature of the foldable MacBook will be its all-screen design, unlike current models with a separate display and keyboard. It will be equipped with one large screen that folds in half.
When unfolded, the MacBook will be able to be used as a monitor in combination with a keyboard and trackpad or mouse, and when folded, it will be used as a laptop. It is likely that this model will not have a separate keyboard, but will instead use an on-screen keyboard with numeric keys and tactile feedback to feel like real keys.
Size
Display market analyst Ross Young claims that the foldable MacBook will have an 18.8-inch display, with Apple aiming to make the screen as smooth as possible when unfolded. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also suggested that Apple is planning a screen of around 19 inches.
Display technology
Apple is rumored to be working with LG Display to develop a foldable OLED panel, and LG has been developing a foldable ultra-thin protective glass for the past few years.
Apple has also been testing electronic ink technology (EPD) that it could use in future foldable devices. EPD could potentially be used in the external display of a foldable device if Apple opts for a dual-display design, with an internal and external display.
EPD is a form of electronic ink technology known for its much better readability than LED or OLED screens in bright light.
At 18.8 inches, the foldable laptop will likely have a 5K resolution or higher.
What a MacBook with a folding screen might look like (photo: Astropad)
M-series chip
Mass production of foldable displays for the upcoming MacBook could begin in the fourth quarter of 2025, with a launch in late 2025 or early 2026. This would coincide with the release of the upcoming M5 chip, the successor to the M4 in 2024.
We don't know what to expect from the M5, but it will most likely be manufactured using next-generation technology - a 3- or even 2-nanometer process. TSMC is working on 2-nanometer chips, and they should be ready around the second half of 2025.
3nm and 2nm refer to the architecture that TSMC uses for its chips, and the reduction in process size corresponds to a reduction in transistor parameters, which allows for a larger number of transistors to be placed on the processor.
This often leads to higher performance and better energy efficiency. Currently, Apple's M4 chips are manufactured on a 3-nanometer process, just like the M3 chips.
Price
Apple's foldable MacBook requires expensive components, and according to Kuo, its price could be almost as high as the $3,500 Vision Pro headset at launch. The 16-inch MacBook Pro currently costs $2,500, so the more foldable model will likely be more expensive.
Release date
If the rumors are true and Apple plans to start mass production of the foldable MacBook by LG Display in the fourth quarter of 2025, the device could be released in 2025 or 2026. Kuo predicts that Apple will ship more than a million units in 2026.
Apple analyst Ross Young believes that a folding MacBook could appear as early as 2025, as analyst Jeff Pu also said.
However, rumors about the foldable MacBook are different. Two months before the assumption of mass production in the fourth quarter of 2025, Kuo said that a folding MacBook would not appear until 2027.
For now, don't put too much faith in the release date rumors, as Apple's plans may change.
