Analyst: Foldable Mac laptop with M5 processor coming in later 2025 or early 2026

In a Medium post, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple has plans to release a foldable Mac laptop in either/both 20.25-inch and 18.8-inch factors by late 2025 or the first half of 2026.

He says difference between these two sizes is their folded form factor, corresponding to the design of 14–15″ and 13–14″ laptops, respectively. Kuo says LGD will be the exclusive supplier of the displays and that the laptops will use ane M5 processor.

“Apple aims to make the panel as crease-free as possible, requiring high design specifications for both the panel and the hinge,” he adds. “As a result, the cost of the panel and hinge is very high. Current preliminary estimates put the panel and hinge costs at around $600–650 and $200–250, respectively. If production yields improve significantly by the time of mass production, these costs could decrease.”

Kuo says that given the high cost of the display and hinge, the foldable MacBook is likely to be expensive. Unless Apple can significantly improve yields and reduce costs before mass production, the cost of the foldable MacBook could approach that of the current Vision Pro. 

“However, due to the more defined product positioning of the foldable MacBook, the shipments are expected to be significantly higher than those of the Vision Pro,” Due says. “Shipments are estimated to exceed 1 million units in 2026.

This isn’t the first rumor of a foldable Mac laptop. A July 2023 report from Business Korea claimed that Apple is working on a such a device that it will preview in 2025 and have for sale in 2026.

Young said a foldable laptop could form a new product category. If it arrives, it could be a dual-use product: able to work as a notebook with a full-size on-screen keyboard when folded and as a monitor when unfolded and used with an external keyboard. The foldable could also allow for 4K resolutions or higher at the size Apple is investigating, Young added.

And THAT wasn’t the first rumor of a foldable MacBook. In February 2022 in a Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) report analyst Ross Young said Apple was considering a 20-inch foldable MacBook. He added that it and a foldable iPhone won’t arrive until 2025 — if not later.

As wild as the idea sounds, Apple has filed for multiple patents that hint at foldable Macs, iPhones, and iPads. Included among them are patent filing 10,579,105 and patent filing number 20190163233.

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