Apple might be working on a large, foldable device – though it may take years before we can actually buy it.
Last week, Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) analyst Ross Young (via 9to5Mac) said Apple is looking into the idea of a foldable notebook, likely at “20.x” inches in size. Young said it would be a “notebook with a full-size keyboard when folded and for use as a monitor when not folded and used with an external keyboard.” However, he also said Apple isn’t in a hurry to launch such a device, and it may not reach the market until 2025 or later.
Now, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has confirmed the report in his Power On newsletter, citing his own sources. He says it would be a MacBook/iPad hybrid, though instead of having a physical keyboard, it’s more likely that Apple would launch a foldable tablet with one side serving as a virtual keyboard.
We know how this could look like, thanks to Lenovo’s Yoga Book tablet/laptop hybrid, which has an e-ink display instead of a physical keyboard, and the company’s ThinkPad X1 Fold, which combines a foldable tablet with a detachable physical keyboard. Neither device was exactly a perfect execution of this idea, but at least we know it can be done, and perhaps Apple will be able to improve on the concept.
Gurman devoted the bulk of this week’s newsletter to the idea of a $199 iPhone, aimed at emerging markets, though there doesn’t seem to be any concrete evidence that Apple is actually planning to launch such a device. What we do know is that Apple is likely to launch a new, 5G-capable version of the iPhone SE, probably in early March.
