The world of folding is ready to make a place for itself at Apple. Over the months, rumors accumulate, mentioning iPhones, iPads or MacBooks equipped with this screen technology. It is also the laptops of the Apple firm which are talking about them this time.
On May 23, 2024, Ming-Chi Kuo revealed in a publication on Medium that Apple’s first laptop with folding screen would arrive in 2026, compared to 2027 according to previous rumors.
In terms of characteristics, the analyst emphasizes that the chosen folding panel would have a diagonal of 18.8 inches, compared to 20.3 inches according to previous statements from various informants within Apple. Notably, Ross Young, screen market specialist, confirmed this development on Twitter/X to his paying subscribers, specifying in passing that the screen would be precisely 18.76 inches.
Ming-Chi Kuo adds that Apple would have worked on the fold side to make it as less visible as possible, “demanding high design specifications for both the panel and the hinge”. As a result, the price of the technology would be “very high” for Apple. We’re talking here about $600-650 to produce the screen, and $200-250 for the hinge. According to the analyst, we would arrive at a final price at the level of that of the Vision Pro mixed reality headset ($3,499 excluding taxes).
To finish on this product, Ming-Chi Kuo declares that the folding MacBook would be entitled to the M5 processor. A fairly logical situation when we know that generations of Apple Silicon chips last around a year and a half. Exception made for the M3, given that the M4 was released only six months later. A choice dictated above all by Apple’s ambitions in the field of artificial intelligence.