MacBook With Foldable Display Will Actually Have 18.8-Inch Screen, Analyst Says

[MacRumors]

Less than two hours after Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said a MacBook with either an 18.8-inch or 20.2-inch foldable screen would launch in 2026, display industry expert Ross Young has said the device will indeed feature around an 18.8-inch screen.

A foldable-screen MacBook concept by Astropad​

In a post on social media platform X, limited to his paying subscribers, Young said he expects the device to be equipped with an 18.76-inch display instead of a 20.25-inch display for "cost reasons." In a folded position, Kuo said an 18.8-inch MacBook would be similar in size to a traditional 13-inch or 14-inch MacBook.

It is expected that a MacBook with a foldable screen would feature an all-screen design with a virtual keyboard, but exact design details have yet to be rumored.

Kuo said Apple is aiming to make the foldable screen "as crease-free as possible," and he said this could result in the device being nearly as expensive as Apple's Vision Pro headset, which starts at $3,499. He also said the foldable-screen MacBook will be equipped with Apple's next-generation M5 chip, which has yet to be announced.

It seems like a foldable-screen MacBook is still a few years away, and Apple will firm up its plans for the device as its launch gets closer.

Article Link: MacBook With Foldable Display Will Actually Have 18.8-Inch Screen, Analyst Says

 

[Skoua]

Big screen: yes.
Virtual keyboard: god please no.

 

[MarkDeMoss]

Is the M5 chip a few years away? Seems they'd want to release M5 sooner since the Snapdragon Elite has 40-45 trillion op/s compared the M4s 38 top/s.

Either way, sign me up for one.

 

[danny1305]

I’m sure people will find a way to complain about this as well

 

[ThailandToo]

This is what we get instead of an iPad with a real OS that allows us to use it as a tablet or computer. This somehow is going to be a Mac with MacOS that also is touch based and we can convert it into a tablet. Somehow I don’t think this is better than just giving us the ability to run MacOS or Mac apps on the iPad Pro.

 

[Apple Mac Daz]

So just a bigger iPad that folds

 

[Pakaku]

Doesn't seem very "Pro" to take away the whole tactile feeling of typing on a keyboard...

 

[JosephAW]

So MR is a paying subscriber?
Thanks

 

[munpip214]

Or maybe there would be 18 and 20 inch options.

 

[dandyryan]

i be too touchy feely with my keyboard and a touch screen would bring consequences with that intimacy

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Typing on a virtual keyboard would annoy me pretty quickly.

Also 100% not interested in something that would show a crease over time.

 

[icanhazmac]

I realize that is a concept, but I see that as a foldable iPad versus a foldable MacBook. Any amount of serious typing would be painful on that. No thanks either way.

 

[Zwhaler]

Doesn't seem very "Pro" to take away the whole tactile feeling of typing on a keyboard...

Hopefully they would implement advanced haptics. Apple has done a good job of this in the past.

 

[Zwhaler]

As a Z Fold owner, I think this would be fantastic. Although I just replaced my Z Fold 4 with an M4 iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard 🤷‍♂️

The Z Fold won in portability but the iPad edges it out as a computer replacement, mostly due to the hardware keyboard. For travel, the Z Fold 4 worked phenomenally well despite its compact form factor (7.6" inner display). Typing on the Z Fold 4 screen was easier than typing on the iPad on-screen keyboard.

If Apple can pull off next-gen keyboard haptics that don't feel like a step backwards then this could be a hit. Of course Apple's pricing will keep this thing out of reach for the average consumer for years. Who knows, they may even implement some cool eye tracking extras from the Vision Pro to make things interesting.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Is the M5 chip a few years away? Seems they'd want to release M5 sooner since the Snapdragon Elite has 40-45 trillion op/s compared the M4s 38 top/s.

Either way, sign me up for one.

We are stuck at M4. Apple lost all the ability and talent to Nuvia/Qualcomm. Apple is doomed, Tim Apple can’t get it done./s

 

[TechnoMonk]

Gotta figure out a keyboard and track pad in the device. Can’t imagine running a Mac with out either of them.

 

[Blackstick]

Looks like $3500 to me.

 

[Onimusha370]

I was doing some quick maths in my head on the drive home just now - I reckon 18.8 inches is pretty much exactly what you'd expect if you take the current 13" iPad Pro dimensions and make it foldable (i.e. putting 2 iPad Pro's side by side) - you go from a 13 inch 4:3 screen when folded up, to an 18.8 inch 3:2 screen when unfolded. I really hope this runs the iPadOS UI when folded (with touch) and then switches to the MacOS UI unfolded. Would be amazing...

 

[Unity451]

this is stupid. and unnecessary.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I was doing some quick maths in my head on the drive home just now - I reckon 18.8 inches is pretty much exactly what you'd expect if you take the current 13" iPad Pro dimensions and make it foldable (i.e. putting 2 iPad Pro's side by side) - you go from a 13 inch 4:3 screen when folded up, to an 18.8 inch 3:2 screen when unfolded. I really hope this runs the iPadOS UI when folded (with touch) and then switches to the MacOS UI unfolded. Would be amazing...

I hope it sticks to one OS. It was nightmare on those windows 2 in 1 devices.

 

[FasterQuieter]

I have recently discovered that too strong reading glasses paired with moving your device too close to your face are a great alternative to a bigger screen. Cheaper too. If you want a great movie watching experience on your phone in bed buy a 3X pair of readers.

 

[Unity451]

I’m sure people will find a way to complain about this as well

This is the way.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Hopefully they would implement advanced haptics. Apple has done a good job of this in the past.

It's the raised feeling of a keyboard keys, and the F and J home keys - like I can just start typing this reply without even having to look down. On my iPad, I'd need to give it a glance before typing at minimum, and my speed is far slower on the iPad keyboard.

Would be interesting to see what Apple could do with haptics though, I'd be open-minded there to try out any solution they can build.

 

[CalMin]

Interesting...

I trust that Apple can find a way. Much in the same way that we all laughed when iPhone first came out with virtual keyboard. All the Blackberry owners said it would never work, and yet here we are in a world where almost no phones have a physical keyboard.

And... of course it will be expensive!

 

[iZac]

Please call it the iBook