Apple could be looking into entering a brand new category of laptops with a foldable OLED display. According to the report by BusinessKorea, the trillion-dollar company is in active talks with South Korean display manufacturers such as Samsung Display and LG Display for the supply of the foldable panel for this upcoming high-end MacBook.
The report also detailed how this new foldable laptop could be unveiled in 2025. However, the launch and sales are expected to start in 2026. The Korean companies are reportedly “coordinating development and production plans for foldable OLED panels for laptops.” Samsung has reportedly invested US $3.1 billion in its 8.6-generation OLED panels.
The manufacturer is known to supply OLED panels for basic and foldable smartphones and its own tablets. LG, on the other hand, will increase its investment in this format as it currently focuses more on TV-sized panels. These foldable OLED displays for laptops are said to be more profitable for suppliers as compared to the ones for folding smartphones.
ASUS is the only mainstream laptop brand to have unveiled a foldable laptop, the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold, which we reviewed last year. The brand uses a foldable OLED panel from the Chinese display vendor, BOE. Apple is said to launch OLED iPad Pros next year while MacBook Pro with the same display tech is in tow for launch in the coming years. The new lineup is expected to be considerably more expensive than conventional laptops.
Foldable iPhones and iPads
Meanwhile, there have been enough talks and rumours about a foldable iPhone, with the earliest launch timeline said to be 2023. However, that was postponed to 2025 by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, while another analyst Ben Wood spoke about a foldable iPad coming before that. However, we’re yet to hear anything concrete.
