If the keybaord detaches, I wouldn't want to use it as a "traditional" laptop ever because look at all the screen I could have! Then again, that means setting up every time I want to use it. It feels like a flawed idea from the start. Granted, I'm not saying it isn't useful to some.Actually Intel came out with a foldable display spec for devices coming out this year. One of them shows a magnetic detachable keyboard that can live on the lower portion of the screen and can be removed for full screen.
Intel says foldable screen laptop PCs are coming to market in 2022
Foldable PCs are about to hit the market in a big way.www.windowscentral.com
But since Apple refuses to put touch on a Mac I don't know that we would see this running MacOS
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
How Would a MacBook With a Foldable Display Work?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
A non-product that isn't even for sale gets rejected by some guy on the interwebs.
I hope Apple is somehow able to recover from this devastating setback.
I can see a fold out display - via wings on each side - so they'd double the width... double the pixels... and not have any 'bezel' in the center of the screen. I'd bet they could really minimize the size of any viewable bezel (compared to bending a flexible screen). It would be perceived/sold as insignificant - like a notch.
Apple could then bogart those little windowing apps (like Magnet) and build gestures into the OS to maximize a view on one 'panel', or all three.
The only problem would be unfolding it in a coffee shop. Kind of like a peacock fanning out its feathers.
Apple could then bogart those little windowing apps (like Magnet) and build gestures into the OS to maximize a view on one 'panel', or all three.
The only problem would be unfolding it in a coffee shop. Kind of like a peacock fanning out its feathers.
Not as a Mac. In the same way that they didn't put macOS on the iPhone or iPad, they need to keep the Mac optimized for keyboard and indirect pointing device (mouse/trackpad). Now they can research as much as they want for a new product category or as I am suggesting, for a version of the iPad.
Personally, I don't see this as being a potential MacBook Fold, but rather an iPad Fold.
iPad users are already used to on-screen non-tactile keyboards, while MacBook users would absolutely hate that idea.
iPad users are already used to on-screen non-tactile keyboards, while MacBook users would absolutely hate that idea.
Tried both the Samsung foldable phones while updating my Call plan at an actual store and they’re fun and all for a couple of minutes, but that fold crease takes a bit of time to sort itself out to match the rest of the screen and I didn’t fell like I was gaining that much over a decent size phone, but I kept wondering how many days into ownership before that crease just won’t go away.
A foldable screen MacBook Pro doesn’t appear to bet me anything over the current one other than a extra vertical screen that is going to be used by a virtual keyboard most of the time anyways. I just don’t seeing it becoming a shipping product and frankly I’d rather them just make the Magic TrackPad Pencil friendly than spend time and resource making this thing work. A foldable iPad still seems more useful, especially if I wanted the 11” size but more than the 12.9” screen real estate.
A foldable screen MacBook Pro doesn’t appear to bet me anything over the current one other than a extra vertical screen that is going to be used by a virtual keyboard most of the time anyways. I just don’t seeing it becoming a shipping product and frankly I’d rather them just make the Magic TrackPad Pencil friendly than spend time and resource making this thing work. A foldable iPad still seems more useful, especially if I wanted the 11” size but more than the 12.9” screen real estate.
The concept by Astropad looks good if Apple Pencil really worked well with a folding MacBook because typing on it would really suck if current iPad keyboard is the reference.
There should be a way to make typing on glass much better than current iPad or iPhone. For me BlackBerry 10 had a better onscreen keyboard compared to iOS; less typing mistakes. The horrible part about typing on glass is the mistakes. I use my Apple Pencil as much as I can with my 12.9" iPad Pro.
There should be a way to make typing on glass much better than current iPad or iPhone. For me BlackBerry 10 had a better onscreen keyboard compared to iOS; less typing mistakes. The horrible part about typing on glass is the mistakes. I use my Apple Pencil as much as I can with my 12.9" iPad Pro.
Didn’t Steve Jobs dismissed the idea of touch screen Mac almost 10 years ago as horrible experience, hence “pads”
If it’s foldable iPad Pro running iPadOS, then it would make sense. But it doesn’t need a full blown macOS experience. It’s a horrible experience.
(And jobs is still right on most touch screen. And 2 in 1 convertible would be too bulky. People wants device that’s thin)
If it’s foldable iPad Pro running iPadOS, then it would make sense. But it doesn’t need a full blown macOS experience. It’s a horrible experience.
(And jobs is still right on most touch screen. And 2 in 1 convertible would be too bulky. People wants device that’s thin)
Maybe Apple is designing a bent screen for the interior of the Apple Car and the person who received the rumor didn't have all the facts?
Unless the word analyst is followed by the name Ming Kou Cho (apologies if I butchered the spelling) I pretty much ignore anything after the word analyst and just skim the article.
And you all thought TouchBar was just a gimmick…
I maintain TB was Apple dipping a toe into an eventual all-screen MBP. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of TB implementation.
And basing any insight on what an executive says is pointless. How many times has an executive said A won’t happen and the - boom - A happens?
I maintain TB was Apple dipping a toe into an eventual all-screen MBP. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of TB implementation.
And basing any insight on what an executive says is pointless. How many times has an executive said A won’t happen and the - boom - A happens?
A full sized on-screen keyboard isn’t going to make the same kind of sense as a touch screen keyboard on a phone makes. For normal keyboard interaction (with a physical keyboard), you use touch memory of the keys, without needing to look at the keyboard. But with a smooth glass panel on-screen keyboard, there is no differentiation between keys, so you‘re not getting the same kind of feedback loop. It could make sense for designers using some combination of keyboard and Pencil input, where the “keyboard” section of the screen would be in the natural flat plane of your hands, similar to using a Wacom tablet, but I’m not sure it would offer much in the way of fast or efficient key input for creating documents or spreadsheets, or even general things like writing emails.
Maybe this drawback is made up for with using the device with an external physical keyboard and trackpad, with the screen unfolded and set in landscape (using some type of angled stand).
And of course one thing that isn’t being discussed is the fact that to make a glass panel foldable, it will need to be ultra thin and very likely have a plastic screen protector on it. Which then brings up how constant finger or Pencil interaction will very quickly create marks / damage the screen.
Maybe this drawback is made up for with using the device with an external physical keyboard and trackpad, with the screen unfolded and set in landscape (using some type of angled stand).
And of course one thing that isn’t being discussed is the fact that to make a glass panel foldable, it will need to be ultra thin and very likely have a plastic screen protector on it. Which then brings up how constant finger or Pencil interaction will very quickly create marks / damage the screen.
There is a quote from Steve Jobs about when you solve something, just move on to the next problem. The laptop form factor is solved design. They tried searching for a problem with the Touchbar and the butterfly keyboard. Yet, they had to do a 360. There really isn’t much else you can do.
If this is true, then Apple is going back on its word about not trying to create fridge that’s also a toaster that does everything. Each device from the Apple has unique strengths, build on those.
If this is true, then Apple is going back on its word about not trying to create fridge that’s also a toaster that does everything. Each device from the Apple has unique strengths, build on those.
They’re only just getting over the last person who hurt their feelings after claiming that some random speculated product on MR was a ‘hard pass’ from them...
180.
I do see kids typing on iPad screens with some proficiency. It's not for me, but there may be a generation that takes no issue with it.
Hear me out...
Some of us prefer desktop setups, yet we occasionally want to bring our computers elsewhere. My main gripe for a while now has been the fact that owning and operating two different computers is a pain — less so when considering we now have fine continuity features, but still not as convenient as working from a single computer.
So, why not just buy an external monitor and plug a laptop into it? I do think that this makes for perhaps the most versatile computing setup; however, there can exist a cleaner way of achieving a hybrid setup. The main issue with using an external display is that it's useless and idle once you remove your laptop from it. Then, at that point, it's just taking up space on your desk. (Perhaps you wanted it clear so that you could do actual drafting, or some other physical project.) You also now have an expensive device sitting around, while you're presumably not present. Theft is a problem.
Why not have a laptop that can more literally transform into a desktop? All you'd need to do is keep a simple keyboard and mouse in your desk drawer, and there you have everything you need. No need to purchase and house a spare screen — just unfold your laptop and enjoy greater screen real estate. We complain Apple no longer innovates... so, let's give them a chance to do so this time. Finally, with M1, Apple is off the Intel treadmill and can make products that really excite people. These are the sorts of things Apple tried to do with Motorola but couldn't do so — nor with IBM, nor with Intel. The mainstream laptop computer has existed since the early 1990s. When are we going to improve upon it?
Some of us prefer desktop setups, yet we occasionally want to bring our computers elsewhere. My main gripe for a while now has been the fact that owning and operating two different computers is a pain — less so when considering we now have fine continuity features, but still not as convenient as working from a single computer.
So, why not just buy an external monitor and plug a laptop into it? I do think that this makes for perhaps the most versatile computing setup; however, there can exist a cleaner way of achieving a hybrid setup. The main issue with using an external display is that it's useless and idle once you remove your laptop from it. Then, at that point, it's just taking up space on your desk. (Perhaps you wanted it clear so that you could do actual drafting, or some other physical project.) You also now have an expensive device sitting around, while you're presumably not present. Theft is a problem.
Why not have a laptop that can more literally transform into a desktop? All you'd need to do is keep a simple keyboard and mouse in your desk drawer, and there you have everything you need. No need to purchase and house a spare screen — just unfold your laptop and enjoy greater screen real estate. We complain Apple no longer innovates... so, let's give them a chance to do so this time. Finally, with M1, Apple is off the Intel treadmill and can make products that really excite people. These are the sorts of things Apple tried to do with Motorola but couldn't do so — nor with IBM, nor with Intel. The mainstream laptop computer has existed since the early 1990s. When are we going to improve upon it?