Rumor: we might see a hybrid MacBook/iPad by 2026

Last week a Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) report — as noted by MacRumors — analyst Ross Young say Apple is considering a 20-inch foldable MacBook. In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman concurs, but says it will likely be a hybrid MacBook/iPad device with a touchscreen keyboard.

Young said that 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.

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.

Gurman’s take is this: 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. I’m told Apple has indeed been exploring a dual-screen, foldable MacBook/iPad hybrid that would take the second approach. It would trade in the physical keyboard and trackpad for a fully touch-screen base.

If see such a device, he thinks it won’t arrive until 2026.