How could a notebook with a foldable display be implemented, given reports that Apple is working on one?
Young's reports are worth taking seriously because he has revealed a wide range of accurate insights into Apple's plans, including the iPhone 13 Pro's ProMotion display, the display size and bezels of the sixth-generation iPad mini, the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro's mini-LED displays with ProMotion, and more. He claims that Apple could create a whole new product category with the foldable notebook, but with so little known about the mysterious new form factor at this early stage, there appear to be three main options for how the company might envision the device.
MacBook Pro Foldable Display
An all-screen MacBook with a display that spans the entire interior of the clamshell design is perhaps the most obvious implementation for a foldable Apple notebook. Young seemed to speculate that this implementation could result in a dual-use product, saying that it might be able to function as a notebook with a full-size on-screen keyboard when folded and as a monitor when unfolded and used with an external keyboard when unfolded.
Instead of touch, macOS is heavily optimised for indirect trackpad or mouse input. Apple engineering chief Craig Federighi said in 2020 that the look of macOS was designed and evolved in a way that felt comfortable and natural across a family of devices, and that touch was not even considered. This isn't even taking into account the potential for ergonomic problems with a touchscreen keyboard and trackpad. As a result, an all-touchscreen MacBook appears to be wildly out of step with Apple's recent thinking.
Foldable Display With Physical Keyboard
A MacBook with a vertically longer display that folds at the hinge and meets the device's physical keyboard could be a more out of the box form factor. This solution could provide the advantages of a larger display with room for peripheral on-screen content while keeping the advantages of a physical keyboard and trackpad.
The design may also provide a way to bring the Touch Bar back to life without sacrificing physical function keys. In a separate interview, Federighi explained how the MacBook Pro's Touch Bar avoids the ergonomic issues that other touchscreen laptops have:
We believe that the ergonomics of using a Mac are such that your hands are resting on a surface, and that lifting your arm up to poke a screen is quite tiring.
Whether or not the Touch Bar is revived, extending the MacBook's display in this way would comply with Apple's ergonomic requirements of not lifting one's arms to touch the screen while also providing a new touch input location.
In this case, a 20-inch display would be more likely, allowing Apple to offer a larger MacBook Pro to sit above the 16-inch model in the lineup, similar to the 17-inch MacBook Pro that was available from 2006 to 2011.
Just a Foldable iPad Pro?
While Young described the device as a "foldable notebook," it's possible that it's a foldable iPad Pro if it's an all-screen device. After all, a macOS-based touch-based all-screen notebook would likely eat into the iPad Pro's market share, so an iPadOS-based device might make more sense.
This viewpoint appears to be consistent with Apple's current outlook. Last year, when asked about touchscreen Macs, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, John Ternus, pointed to the iPad:
On an iPad, we create the best touch computer in the world. It's been designed specifically for that purpose. In addition, the Mac has been designed specifically for indirect input. We haven't seen a compelling reason to do so.
Apple has been rumoured to be working on a foldable iPad Pro in the past, so the idea isn't completely out of the realm of possibility.
It's also worth noting that this implementation may correspond to rumours of a larger iPad Pro. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported last summer that Apple was working on larger iPad models that would "blur the lines" between tablet and laptop:
I've heard that Apple's engineers and designers are working on larger iPads, which could arrive in stores in a couple of years at the earliest. They're unlikely to arrive next year, given Apple's focus on a redesigned iPad Pro in current sizes for 2022, and it's possible they'll never arrive. However, for many people, including myself, a large iPad would be the ideal device, blurring the lines between tablet and laptop.
At least two Apple suppliers, BOE and LG Display, are now preparing to supply the company with larger OLED displays for future iPad models.
Larger display sizes may bring the iPad closer to the Mac than ever before, but software improvements are likely to be required to fully utilise the larger display. The iPad Pro was last updated in April 2021, but some users have complained that iPadOS does not fully exploit the iPad Pro's hardware, making it more difficult to replace a Mac than it should be.
According to urman, Apple will eventually need to allow Mac apps and a Mac-like multitasking experience on the iPad Pro, as well as more flexible app window arrangements. Further iterations of iPadOS are likely to improve the experience to take better advantage of the iPad's hardware by the time even larger iPads hit the market.
Release Date
Young said the launch date for Apple's foldable notebook is "likely later" than 2025, with 2026 or 2027 being suggested as viable options, but there's still a chance the project will be shelved long before then.
