Apple Said To Be Planning Hybrid Foldable, But It Won’t Come For A Few Years

Samsung may currently have a leg up in the foldable devices game, but it probably won’t be long before Apple enters the competition too. 

Reputable tech analyst Mark Gurman of Bloomberg confirms in his Power On newsletter that Apple is indeed working on its own foldable device, but it doesn’t seem to be a smartphone. Instead, the screen is noted to be 20 inches, positioning it as a MacBook or iPad. 

9to5Mac notes that a report was first made by Ross Young, a DSCC analyst, who stated that the firm is currently in negotiations with suppliers about this hypothetical new product.

Young details that there’s potential for the product to be used as a notebook with a full-sized keyboard when folded, and acts as a larger monitor to be used with an external keyboard when unfolded. 

This does bring to mind a previous Apple patent, which saw the firm exploring the idea of a dual-display laptop, with the bottom screen functioning as a digital keyboard.

“The company could go with a foldable 20-inch screen attached to a physical keyboard or just have one side of the display serving as a virtual keyboard,” Gurman writes, quoted by 9to5Mac, stating that the latter would “trade in the physical keyboard and trackpad for a fully touch-screen base.”

It’ll be years before we get to see anything of the sort, regardless of which iteration it is. “The time frame is likely later than 2025 though, it could be 2026 or 2027,” Young has disclaimed. 

After all, Apple already has a few innovative projects in the works, namely the elusive Apple Car and AR/VR headsets—which are more than enough to keep its hands full. 

[via 9to5Mac and PhoneArena, image via Art Silpakorn / Shutterstock.com]