Apple is said to be working on several foldable devices, with a clamshell foldable iPhone, a foldable iPad and an unspecified foldable product with a larger display rumoured to be in the works. New information, however, suggests that the company’s first foldable could be a MacBook. A reliable Apple analyst has claimed that the Cupertino, California-based company is working on a foldable MacBook. The update comes after Apple was said to have halted development on its foldable phone last month.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, TF Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that a MacBook was Apple’s only foldable product with a clear development schedule at the moment. If true, this would put the rumoured foldable iPhone and a foldable iPad further down the pipeline. According to Kuo, the foldable Mac would sport a 20.3-inch screen and would likely enter mass production in 2027.
“Recently, I’ve received many inquiries about whether Apple plans to mass-produce the foldable iPhone or iPad in 2025 or 2026,” Kuo said in his post. “My latest survey indicates that currently, Apple’s only foldable product with a clear development schedule is the 20.3-inch MacBook, expected to enter mass production in 2027.”
最近我多次被詢問蘋果是否計劃在 2025 年或 2026 年量產可折疊 iPhone 或 iPad。我的最新調查顯示，蘋果目前唯一有明確開發時程的可折疊產品，只有配備約20.3″顯示器、並預計在2027年量產的MacBook。
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Recently, I’ve received many inquiries about whether Apple plans to mass-produce the…— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) March 7, 2024
The new information suggests that Apple’s foldable products are still a few years away from hitting the market. Meanwhile, Samsung, Apple’s biggest rival in the mobile space, already has five generations of its clamshell and book-style foldable phones out. Google, too, released the Pixel Fold last year and is said to be working on a second-generation device.
There are no details yet available about a purported foldable MacBook, or how the folding mechanism would be integrated into the device, considering all laptops are inherently foldables. Apple has not confirmed its plans for a foldable product. Most recently, the company launched two new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models, both powered by its in-house M3 chipset.
A report last month had said that Apple was developing a foldable device larger than an iPhone, which could suggest a foldable Mac in the works, in line with Kuo’s claim. The report had said that the large-screen foldable could arrive in the form of a notebook or a tablet.
A tipster also claimed last month that Apple had paused development on a foldable phone over issues with the folding display. But the company has been reported to be working on both a clamshell-style foldable phone and a foldable iPad, with both devices said to be in early development stage.