Toni Hobrecht
So far, Asus has been pretty much alone as a pioneer among notebooks with foldable displays with its Zenbook Fold series. However, this is apparently set to change in the future and serious competition is on the way. According to a report from Korea, Apple is also working on a notebook with a foldable display – a MacBook Fold. Previous renderings and rumors rather pointed to an iPad Fold.
The company is now apparently in talks with suppliers to launch a MacBook Fold as well. The device would boost the currently weakening display market.
According to the article, Apple MacBook Fold is scheduled to be released in 2026, after a presentation in 2025. Korean display makers like Samsung Display and LG Display have been investing a lot of time and money in OLED panels for notebooks lately, since the smartphone market is now largely saturated. Accordingly, both companies are currently “coordinating development and production plans for foldable OLED panels for laptops”, as this market still has some growth potential.
An order from Apple would definitely get this currently relatively small market moving. According to the report’s source, larger display sizes are certainly more profitable for panel makers, although achieving high pixel densities becomes more difficult as the size increases. Nevertheless, foldable displays for notebooks are more profitable than foldable panels for smartphones. In the current situation, display manufacturers will therefore not miss this opportunity to enter a new market.
