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Report: Apple Starts Work on 20-Inch Foldable Display, Possibly for Future MacBook Pro

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Apple has reportedly kicked off the development of a 20-inch display, possibly for a future MacBook Pro model, according to a report today by The Elec, citing industry sources.

foldable-macbook-astropad.jpg
Concept by Astropad​

Per the report, the 20-inch device will feature a 20.25-inch OLED display made by an unknown South Korean component supplier. With a 20.25-inch display unfolded, the device would feature a 15.3-inch screen when folded, larger than the current largest iPad Pro but smaller than the 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Given that the screen size is in its early 20 inches when unfolded, the project product is likely to be in a form close to a MacBook (laptop). Assuming a 20-inch product is 20.25 inches, it will be 15.3 inches in size when folded. The currently available Apple MacBook Series screen sizes are mid-to-late 10 inches, and the iPad (tablet) series screen sizes are between less than 10 inches and early 10 inches.
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The report claims that Apple is eyeing a mainstream commercial launch of its foldable device in 2026 or 2027, but is cautious that Apple is unlikely to do so until it transitions the iPad and Mac to OLED displays. Currently, only the high-end iPhone and Apple Watch models have OLED displays while other Apple products have LCD panels.

In an additional tidbit of the report, The Elec claims that Apple is looking to replace the iPad mini with a foldable device that measures 10 inches and notes a foldable iPhone is "unlikely," despite reports that Apple is working on one.

According to today's report, Apple plans to launch 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad models with OLED displays in 2024, lining up with previous reports and rumors. The report also cites 2025 as the year Apple plans to debut a MacBook Pro with an OLED display.

Article Link: Report: Apple Starts Work on 20-Inch Foldable Display, Possibly for Future MacBook Pro
 
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https://www.macrumors.com/2022/12/07/apple-20-inch-display-future-macbook-pro/
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Foldables are a physical, mechanical problem that nobody has really come close to solving well. They damage easily and don't look seamless.

I'm sure Apple experiments with a lot of ideas, but it would surprise me if they managed to launch a foldable product which is radically better than the garbage out there.
 
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Just roll out some great VR goggles so that we can have any size screens we need "in there."

Need an ultra wide for some project where width matters most. Dynamically use an ultra wide. Need ultra tall for some task where you need tons of portrait orientation? Dynamically use that kind of (virtual) screen. Need an IMAX screen to watch a video? Summon up a virtual IMAX size. Need a classic 3.5" phone screen for one-handed use? Ta-dah.

If rumored goggles are not just Apple Occulus Pro Max Deluxe Mach II, they might be able to cover all display bases, effectively giving you desktop power you can summon in any scenario/setting.

Example: I just had a long flight without enough room for laptop use. So I used ear goggles (headphones) to fill the time listening to music. However, if there were goggles that could "create" my desktop setup in that physically-limited space, it wouldn't matter that the airlines continue to squeeze the seating space. Plop open that shrinking tray table for a virtual or physical keyboard and let me use whatever size screen(s) I want.
 
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Apple has patents related to glass keyboards. They have proposed areas on the glass that can be raised to define keys. So your screen can go from 100% screen to feeling like a keyboard.

www.patentlyapple.com

Apple Won Two MacBook Patents Emphasizing the Expanded use of a Glass Body & Keyboard Areas

Yesterday the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 73 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. In this particular report we cover two MacBook patents that place heavy emphasis of including a glass cover where the keyboard/trackpad area reside. The second granted patent...
www.patentlyapple.com www.patentlyapple.com
 
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Foldable iPad Mini but it's not a phone they're just making an iPad that is easy to break? Ok no thanks.

(I'll go back in four years and edit this post when I inevitably buy one anyway because I want the new small ipad..)
 
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So they really want to chase developers away from their laptops?

First the defective by design emoji keyboard, now this.
 
If this is a replacement for the MacBook then please no, but if this is a foldable "Wacom tablet" that supports the Apple Pencil with hover and works on macOS then yes please.
 
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Corsig said:
Here come the “who would ever buy this” comments. I know I would buy one looks cool as hell
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There is a difference between looking cool and functional. Whats the benefit of this? Is portability still a factor or is this just intended to be a shiny gimmick? I think what needs to happen is more work needs to go into fixing iPad OS on the existing iPads first. Windowing is such a mess right now.
 
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till said:
Foldables are a physical, mechanical problem that nobody has really come close to solving well. They damage easily and don't look seamless.

I'm sure Apple experiments with a lot of ideas, but it would surprise me if they managed to launch a foldable product which is radically better than the garbage out there.
Click to expand...
They're getting better every year though.

I have a Fold 4 provided by work and I'm in love with it. If I could afford it, it would be my main device.

The crease doesn't bother me at all, it's something you just ignore like the notch on iPhone.

Nothing broke yet and the reports of damaged screens are decreasing per upgrade they're doing.

So, yea a lot of people are beta testers for this with expensive devices and I suspect Apple is in the same situation, they're just waiting for the tech to improve before they go all in.
 
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