Apple is preparing a Macbook with a foldable screen. When it could launch

According to information circulating among Apple’s South Korean partners, the US company is already working with component suppliers to develop a foldable-screen Macbook.

Apparently, preparations are at the stage of evaluating and selecting future components, with Apple placing particular importance on the reliability offered. We do learn, however, that the future device is expected to be a 20″ widescreen laptop in extended mode, too much to talk about a foldable tablet or smartphone.

One of the requests to suppliers is to develop a screen/hinge combination able to withstand a very large number of fold-fold actions, reflecting actual device usage conditions.

Apparently, the product would be an improved version of the 15.3-inch Macbook series, with the screen offering this diagonal in folded mode. Thus, the “extended” mode could offer a similar experience to using a tablet. Alternatively, it’s possible that the smaller “half” below the horizontal hinge will appear deployed next to the physical keyboard, taking on the role of a touchpad or toolbar. Another option would be for Apple to develop a Macbook with a detachable keyboard, similar to the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Fold from two years ago.

The first foldable Macbook is expected to use hinge mechanisms supplied by Taiwanese manufacturers such as Nippon Nippon, a supplier Apple has used in the past to equip MacBook systems.

Instead, foldable displays will most likely be OLED solutions supplied by Samsung, with Apple having few alternatives that meet strict quality and durability requirements. A decisive argument could also be the Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) technology developed by Samsung to protect foldable screens against scratches.

Alternatively, Apple could also select a display with microLED technology. Different from miniLED technology, microLED promises higher brightness, colour saturation and energy efficiency than OLED. Industry sources have claimed in the past that Apple would already be investing in setting up its own microLED display factory, with the technology eventually replacing OLED.