Arrr, word be spreadin' of a grand 20-inch MacBook with a foldable screen, fit for a pirate's treasure!
2024-05-24
Arrr matey, still dreamin' of a foldable MacBook, are ye? Ye may just be in luck, for word has it a crease-free one be comin' in 2025. Keep a weather eye on the horizon, me hearties!
A new rumor has begun to spread amongst Apple enthusiasts, detailing the potential mass production of ‘crease-free’ foldable screens made by LG for a 20.2-inch MacBook (or possibly 18.8-inch), that might be released late next year. Analyst and prolific Apple leaker Ming-Chi Kuo listed some pretty interesting details surrounding the supposed foldable MacBook in a Medium blog post. It will supposedly run an M5 series processor (hinting Apple will proceed with its SoCs in a logical manner) alongside a crease-free panel. Foldables like the Google Pixel Fold or the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 Gen 1 can reportedly develop a noticeable line where the screen folds.To combat this danger, the supposed LG-manufactured screen will have “high design specifications” for the panel and the hinge, leading to a very high cost of production. Kuo estimates the panel and hinge to cost around $600 to $650 and $200 to $250 respectively. This cost would likely be passed on to the consumer, potentially making the rumored device much more expensive than expected.Do I think this rumored foldable has even a smidge of a chance of becoming a reality? Probably not. In the last few years, it seems like after every MacBook launch, there are rumors about a foldable laptop or tablet, which inevitably come to nothing. The specifications of the rumored MacBook also lead me to believe that this product may never be realized.Apple has made it clear that MacBooks are not iPads and vice versa. A foldable laptop would have to come with a touchscreen, and it may be in Apple's best interest to keep these entities separate. Apple has never been known to jump in at the height of a trend like foldable devices, preferring to wait till the end of a trend to swoop in and revamp the hype, or miss it entirely. I personally can’t even envision a foldable MacBook, at least not in the next few years. Still, this rumor is fun to think about - maybe one day it'll be true.