Apple continues to work on a MacBook with a 20-inch folding screen, according to a reliable source of insider information. It could set a new pattern for notebooks for the coming decade.
The product has been on the drawing board for quite some time, but isn’t scheduled for release until 2027.
MacBook with 20-inch folding display is on Apple’s drawing board
The general design of portable computers was laid down by Apple’s PowerBook line in the early 1990s. Changes to the standard notebook design since then have mostly been refinements of those earliest models. But Apple is reportedly working to shake up the status quo.
Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst who follows Apple for TF International Securities, said Thursday:
“My latest survey indicates that currently, Apple’s only foldable product with a clear development schedule is the 20.3-inch MacBook, expected to enter mass production in 2027.”
Kuo’s sources in Apple’s supply chain have given him a history of often correctly predicting upcoming changes to iPhone, iPad and Mac.
And his prediction isn’t the first time that word of the super-size MacBook has come to light. Analyst Ross Young said in early 2022 that a 20-inch MacBook is in the first stages of development. The Elec weighed in at the end of that year to say the same.
But all these sources agree that the device is pegged for release in 2027.
A radical redesign
If this unconfirmed report is true, this could be the dream of many: a touchscreen Mac. That will require significant changes to macOS as it’s currently designed to be controlled with a cursor and keyboard.
The 20-inch folding MacBook will almost certainly not include a physical keyboard or trackpad. It’ll be all screen, so will use a virtual keyboard instead, as iPads do. That means it will be about the same size as a current MacBook Pro.
Unfolded, it could be held in the lap while the user writes or draws with a stylus. Or it could be set up on a table with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse as though it were a portable iMac.
Alternatively, the computer could be folded into a MacBook’s clamshell shape for the user to type onto the virtual keyboard. Or the keyboard could be replaced with other controls, perhaps for video editing.
considering how many consumers are dubious about folding screens, it seems likely this product would be dubbed something like “MacBook Pro Max” and be an addition to Apple’s product line. It probably wouldn’t supplant a traditional MacBook.
