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Kuo: Folding All-Screen MacBook Delayed Until Late 2027 At the Earliest
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I believe THIS... Is what Touch Bar was ushering in.
Touch Bar's 2016 debut was Apple's toe-dip into what I always felt was an intentional step toward an eventual all-glass MacBook. That for step night have bene realized six years earlier when iPad debuted. When we first saw that full[er than iPhone]-sized touchscreen keyboard, the idea of an all-glass MacBook was born. But it was Touch Bar that first put interactive "touch" (save the trackpad, obviously) onto the base of a MacBook - slowly introducing us to a more dynamic keyboard, without cannonballing into a full-on touch screen base. Like many, I hate typing on an iPad. You think the bitching about Touch Bar was incessant? The bitching about typing on an all-glass MacBook would have been deafening. Personally, I was willing to adapt - as we've had to at several stops along tech's evolution - in an effort to see what opportunities an all-glass MacBook revealed.
[TANGENT]
I'm now reminded of a time early in my graphic designer career. I was working at a small boutique agency in Denver, circa mid-2000s. The AD there, my boss, was a MacBook Pro user. But unlike mot create on laptops, he didnt have any peripherals: no mouse, no nothing. Just a MacBook. At that point, I had never seen creative do any serious work with just a trackpad. I came up a PowerMac + mouse kind of designer (with fine-point Sharpie + paper as my starting point). I was blown away this guy used a track pad for all of his design work. And his work was killer. Fast froward a coupe of years and Apple releases Magic Track Pad (2010). It was then that I made a conscious effort to forego my faithful Apple BT mouse in favor of a BT trackpad. My main motivator was thinking "touch" would be the go-forward mechanism for interfacing with tech. It took me about 2 weeks to get comfy, and another 2 weeks before it was completely natural. But I haven't used a mouse since. I have also moved away from Apple desktops. I've been a MacBook Pro creative since shortly after moving to a trackpad. A few years back, a designer that worked for me, was mesmerized that I didn't use a mouse, or any external peripherals. I shared the story of my experience as well as my perspective on the topic. He thought I was crazy. Since then, our paths have diverged. About 6 months ago, he reached out to me. He said that he had made the jump to trackpad-only design, loved it, and was never going back. I couldn't help but grin. Everything is circular.
[/TANGENT]
It was staggering that Apple reversed course on Touch Bar, killing it off before it could see any type of evolution. I always found it baffling that some were so worked up about adding functionality to Function keys. Touch Bar wasn't taking away your stagnant Function key functionality. "I didn't rent it shoes. I'm not buying it a flipping beer. He's not taking your flipping turn, Dude." [for my Lebowski peeps out there]. Need an F2 key? You have an F2 key. Need that same key to offer app-specific functionality? You have that too. Win-win. Wait - no? But... The anti-Touch Bar vitriol was one of the more bizarre I've seen in Apple's storied history. It all, for me, was so unexpectedly explosive and weirdly short-sighted. I had no idea that stagnant little row of keys harbored so much passion for some. But it did, and Apple relented - which was actually the biggest takeaway from the wheel Touch Bar chapter. Up to that point, I hadn't seen "the people" so much as bend Apple. And never so directly responsible for Apple killing off an initiative. And the odd part: all Apple had to do was offer a toggle for Touch Bar in Settings. Want your Function keys to never change? Toggle Off. Seems that could have maybe bought the initiative some time, let it breathe, evolve a bit. Alas...
Wwe may never know what Apple intended with Touch Bar. And my take could be completely off-base (wouldn't be the first time, won't be the last). Fun to ponder. And really, this is the corner of the internet to do just that. Thanks.
Touch Bar's 2016 debut was Apple's toe-dip into what I always felt was an intentional step toward an eventual all-glass MacBook. That for step night have bene realized six years earlier when iPad debuted. When we first saw that full[er than iPhone]-sized touchscreen keyboard, the idea of an all-glass MacBook was born. But it was Touch Bar that first put interactive "touch" (save the trackpad, obviously) onto the base of a MacBook - slowly introducing us to a more dynamic keyboard, without cannonballing into a full-on touch screen base. Like many, I hate typing on an iPad. You think the bitching about Touch Bar was incessant? The bitching about typing on an all-glass MacBook would have been deafening. Personally, I was willing to adapt - as we've had to at several stops along tech's evolution - in an effort to see what opportunities an all-glass MacBook revealed.
[TANGENT]
I'm now reminded of a time early in my graphic designer career. I was working at a small boutique agency in Denver, circa mid-2000s. The AD there, my boss, was a MacBook Pro user. But unlike mot create on laptops, he didnt have any peripherals: no mouse, no nothing. Just a MacBook. At that point, I had never seen creative do any serious work with just a trackpad. I came up a PowerMac + mouse kind of designer (with fine-point Sharpie + paper as my starting point). I was blown away this guy used a track pad for all of his design work. And his work was killer. Fast froward a coupe of years and Apple releases Magic Track Pad (2010). It was then that I made a conscious effort to forego my faithful Apple BT mouse in favor of a BT trackpad. My main motivator was thinking "touch" would be the go-forward mechanism for interfacing with tech. It took me about 2 weeks to get comfy, and another 2 weeks before it was completely natural. But I haven't used a mouse since. I have also moved away from Apple desktops. I've been a MacBook Pro creative since shortly after moving to a trackpad. A few years back, a designer that worked for me, was mesmerized that I didn't use a mouse, or any external peripherals. I shared the story of my experience as well as my perspective on the topic. He thought I was crazy. Since then, our paths have diverged. About 6 months ago, he reached out to me. He said that he had made the jump to trackpad-only design, loved it, and was never going back. I couldn't help but grin. Everything is circular.
[/TANGENT]
It was staggering that Apple reversed course on Touch Bar, killing it off before it could see any type of evolution. I always found it baffling that some were so worked up about adding functionality to Function keys. Touch Bar wasn't taking away your stagnant Function key functionality. "I didn't rent it shoes. I'm not buying it a flipping beer. He's not taking your flipping turn, Dude." [for my Lebowski peeps out there]. Need an F2 key? You have an F2 key. Need that same key to offer app-specific functionality? You have that too. Win-win. Wait - no? But... The anti-Touch Bar vitriol was one of the more bizarre I've seen in Apple's storied history. It all, for me, was so unexpectedly explosive and weirdly short-sighted. I had no idea that stagnant little row of keys harbored so much passion for some. But it did, and Apple relented - which was actually the biggest takeaway from the wheel Touch Bar chapter. Up to that point, I hadn't seen "the people" so much as bend Apple. And never so directly responsible for Apple killing off an initiative. And the odd part: all Apple had to do was offer a toggle for Touch Bar in Settings. Want your Function keys to never change? Toggle Off. Seems that could have maybe bought the initiative some time, let it breathe, evolve a bit. Alas...
Wwe may never know what Apple intended with Touch Bar. And my take could be completely off-base (wouldn't be the first time, won't be the last). Fun to ponder. And really, this is the corner of the internet to do just that. Thanks.
The only thing I find alluring about this photo is the woman. Why would I want a giant crease on my $3500 foldable? I was in Verizon yesterday playing with the Galaxy Z Fold latest. Looking head on, no crease. Looking at a slight angle more than 2 degrees.....my grandma's wrinkles are less pronounced.
And I love curves on a woman, but I do not love curves on a TV or a software menu. Look at the fold on the right and shiver thinking about trying to select a menu on a hill.
And I love curves on a woman, but I do not love curves on a TV or a software menu. Look at the fold on the right and shiver thinking about trying to select a menu on a hill.
I still think a very high precision hinge joining two flat screens would be better.
seems to me Apple is consolidating their lineup and going full on with Vision OS for the future.
this device on a desk is essentially an iMac that can be carried. So it would definitely eat into iMac sales, and eventually make it obsolete. Folded it’s a MacBook, which has the potential of adding a thin low profile keyboard to be used like a normal laptop.
Apple releasing a large screened device and not doing a Bluetooth keyboard, isn’t Apple. It’ll definitely have a physical keyboard that can be added and removed.
it’s a device which will have a keyboard to be used like a laptop, or when stationary detached to ne used like a iMac. It will eat into product sales across the board except for the iPhone. So yeah this is a deliberate move … they’re consolidating for the future. Vision OS doesn’t work with current form factors so it makes sense.
it’ll be this device in the initial two sizes, then eventually more / larger. The Mac Pro desktop will remain, iMac will be scrapped, iPad will be scrapped, and lower end MacBooks / entry macbook pros too.
can someone do the math and see what screen diagonal we get when it’s in laptop mode with a detachable keyboard on the other half? What’s the attack vector on the size choice they are initially going with / which devices are they aiming to replace first (if any devices approximately match)?
this device on a desk is essentially an iMac that can be carried. So it would definitely eat into iMac sales, and eventually make it obsolete. Folded it’s a MacBook, which has the potential of adding a thin low profile keyboard to be used like a normal laptop.
Apple releasing a large screened device and not doing a Bluetooth keyboard, isn’t Apple. It’ll definitely have a physical keyboard that can be added and removed.
it’s a device which will have a keyboard to be used like a laptop, or when stationary detached to ne used like a iMac. It will eat into product sales across the board except for the iPhone. So yeah this is a deliberate move … they’re consolidating for the future. Vision OS doesn’t work with current form factors so it makes sense.
it’ll be this device in the initial two sizes, then eventually more / larger. The Mac Pro desktop will remain, iMac will be scrapped, iPad will be scrapped, and lower end MacBooks / entry macbook pros too.
can someone do the math and see what screen diagonal we get when it’s in laptop mode with a detachable keyboard on the other half? What’s the attack vector on the size choice they are initially going with / which devices are they aiming to replace first (if any devices approximately match)?
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Can’t wait to find a matching keyboard, eh? 👀
Apple's rumored foldable MacBook won't arrive until the end of 2027 or 2028 at the earliest because of technical challenges, according to the latest prediction by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Previous reports from display industry analyst Ross Young, Haitong analyst Jeff Pu, Korean website The Elec, and Kuo himself suggested that Apple is developing an all-display foldable laptop that will feature a 20.2-inch or an 18.8-inch screen.
When folded, the laptop was rumored to be a full-size on-screen keyboard that seamlessly integrates the typing experience into the display itself. When completely unfolded, the device was said to function as a standard monitor. Paired with an external keyboard, it would essentially transform into a large-screen desktop setup.
Kuo in May said that LG Display was aiming to begin mass production of display panels for a MacBook with a 20.2-inch or an 18.8-inch foldable screen in the fourth quarter of 2025. However, his latest post on X (Twitter) claims that Apple has canceled the 20-inch design and has now settled on a display size of 18.8 inches.
"Some market participants previously expected Apple to launch the foldable iPad in 2025," said Kuo in his latest post. "But the current supply chain survey indicates that the foldable iPad has no visibility. This may also be because some call this foldable MacBook a foldable iPad."
Apple has been experimenting with various devices with foldable displays, including a foldable iPad and MacBook. Obviously the MacBook is already foldable, but Apple has reportedly been exploring an all-display MacBook form factor that has no standard keyboard.
Display analyst Ross Young said in July 2022 that Apple could bring some kind of foldable laptop to market in 2026 or 2027, and it remains unclear if such a device would be classified as a Mac, an iPad, or something in between.
In a May report, Haitong analyst Jeff Pu said Apple's first foldable devices would reach mass production in 2025 and 2026, following increasing evidence of foldable devices in Apple's supply chain. At the time, the analyst said Apple would likely release a large-screen foldable iPad or MacBook in that timeframe before launching a higher-volume foldable iPhone in late 2026.
Pu had claimed one Apple foldable with a 20.3-inch display would start production in late 2025, which was sooner than previously expected. However, Pu later said he believed Apple would join the foldable market in the second quarter of 2026 due to "display durability issues," reflecting Apple's intention to perfect a foldable design. It seems Apple is still in the prototyping stage of a foldable device. Would you be interested in such a product? Let us know in the comments.
Article Link: Kuo: Folding All-Screen MacBook Delayed Until Late 2027 At the Earliest
