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How Would a MacBook With a Foldable Display Work?

I see very little use in a foldable laptop...
The foldable screen is cool but there are quite a few compromises to have and for a computer they're not worth it (unlike with phones).
This technology is much better suited for iPads and whatnot.
On the other hand I have been watching Black Mirror lately and one recurring theme is thin laptops with on-screen keyboards, so...who knows...
 
Honestly I think this would be more like a Surface Duo than a soft screen device. Wasn't this previously rumoured?
 
If all the foldable concepts I’ve seen, this one makes the least sense. Apple’s made some questionable design choices in the past but even they aren’t dumb enough to make something like this.
 
AdamNC said:
This whole foldable movement is dumb.
Click to expand...
……For you

If you’re not interested, then why are you here?

It’s not like foldable devices don’t have a place in the tech sector, it’s a newer leap in technology that hasn’t come full circle yet, but there is potential behind this product, even if you can’t see it.
 
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I used to love reading things like this back in the 90s and 00s. Now it just sounds like something teenaged me would dream up because it looked cool with no regard for how people actually use laptops.

Or tablets for that matter. There are reasons Apple & others sell external keyboards for tablets, and consumers not being used to multi-touch/onscreen keyboards yet is not one of them.
 
foldable display will never work.
it will make a hit then flop due to poor sales.
just like phone. it works best as brick
notebook? screen on one side and keyboard on the other. as much as it should be folded
 
Having worked on these sorts of form factors (and knowing a German company has some fairly broad patents from over 10 years ago) there are some more than niche use cases that make sense. For example the Pro that wants a large screen, high portability between locations, no fixed desk at the office (as we get back to going their), and mainly working on location vs. on the train/plane/cafe. Having a larger display that folds and stores for transport is ideal. Assume you can have a dock/keyboard/etc at each location. For the mobile use case you can use the split screen (with a keyboard, app controls, etc)...

However in that last scenario no matter what you do it kinda sucks... better than nothing, but not ideal. And it's not really Apple's style to have a suboptimal solution for a use case, even if it's for "in a pinch"... Lenovo? Sure they'll throw all sorts of pasta on the wall of the marketplace.

Having used the form factor (albeit without the fold, was dual display) I like it with a keyboard... using the bottom half as an input area was a big PITA... I'm guessing they're doing a lot of playing around, but also guessing they're not going to make it the level of experience that they're gonna want to throw an Apple on the back of. And I'll happily be first in line if I'm wrong
 
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aknabi said:
Having worked on these sorts of form factors (and knowing a German company has some fairly broad patents from over 10 years ago) there are some more than niche use cases that make sense. For example the Pro that wants a large screen, high portability between locations, no fixed desk at the office (as we get back to going their), and mainly working on location vs. on the train/plane/cafe. Having a larger display that folds and stores for transport is ideal. Assume you can have a dock/keyboard/etc at each location. For the mobile use case you can use the split screen (with a keyboard, app controls, etc)...

However in that last scenario no matter what you do it kinda sucks... better than nothing, but not ideal. And it's not really Apple's style to have a suboptimal solution for a use case, even if it's for "in a pinch"... Lenovo? Sure they'll throw all sorts of pasta on the wall of the marketplace.

Having used the form factor (albeit without the fold, was dual display) I like it with a keyboard... using the bottom half as an input area was a big PITA... I'm guessing they're doing a lot of playing around, but also guessing they're not going to make it the level of experience that they're gonna want to throw an Apple on the back of. And I'll happily be first in line if I'm wrong
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So we’re talking a 20” “laptop” that doesn’t weigh as much as (or take up the in-bag space of) a 20” laptop. Then you dock it with a keyboard and pointer device when you get back to the office? And can be used as a more conventional laptop (albeit very compromised) while on the go? That would be interesting.

Now, I’ve never done business travel, certainly not during working hours where I’m expected to work on the train or while flying. Obviously, some people do it. I took first class on Acela last year, and there were a couple of business travelers doing exactly that. (Though I suspect the train travelers either were using the train’s WiFi or a work assigned cellular dongle, and I’ve been on planes without in-flight WiFi.) I’m legitimately not familiar with what kinds of jobs require people to work like that (legal, sales, maybe upper management?). As a software developer, my job basically requires internet access (even if it weren’t for working from a remote desktop, I’d still need to check in code, access certain servers, etc.). What sorts of jobs do these people do that they don’t need to be online 100% of the time but are expected to work 100% of the time?
 
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swingerofbirch said:
Lenovo has an interesting computer like this. The X1 Fold. I've never seen one in person, but it has quite a clever design with a physical keyboard that can be placed on the bottom half:

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That is so cool! It's too slow and too expensive for me to think about, but the form factor and the keyboard is great!

I love the term CEO laptop too, that says it all.
 
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