Earlier this week, analyst Ross Young revealed that Apple has delayed the launch of its foldable iPhone until 2025 and is now exploring a 20-inch all-screen foldable MacBook. Today, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman corroborated Young’s report saying Apple’s rumored 20-inch foldable device could be a MacBook/iPad hybrid with a software-based keyboard.
Gurman says Apple’s rumored 20-inch foldable device could be a MacBook/iPad hybrid
Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) analyst Ross Young recently reported that Apple is exploring a 20-inch foldable MacBook with an all-screen design for dual-use purposes, like a notebook and monitor. Young said that Apple is in discussions with suppliers about this device but the expected launch timeline is beyond 2025, 2026, 2027.
On the other hand, we are now showing Apple in our roadmap for foldable notebooks. We hear there is interest at the largest size yet, around 20.x”. 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. 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.
In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman echoed Young’s report saying Apple has been working on a foldable MacBook/iPad hybrid with a touch-screen base in place of a physical keyboard and trackpad.
The company could go with a foldable 20-inch screen attached to a physical keyboard or just have one side of the display serving as a virtual keyboard. I’m told Apple has indeed been exploring a dual-screen, foldable MacBook/iPad hybrid that would take the second approach. It would trade in the physical keyboard and trackpad for a fully touch-screen base
Earlier this month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple a patent for redesigned MacBook to replace the notebook’s metal casing with glass or ceramic with microperforated technology to offer a virtual keyboard.
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