According to a new The Elec report Apple would be collaborating with LG to develop folding OLED screens with an ultra-thin glass that would be used in future models of iPads and MacBooks.
The post explains that LG Display would be the supplier of 4-inch foldable 17K OLED panels to HP this year, intended for folding notebooks that would have an 11-inch screen when folded. Let's not forget that LG Display already has experience in making foldable 13,3-inch panels that were already implemented by Lenovo in its ThinkPad X1 Fold.
The Elec goes further and comments that, in addition to the OLED folding screen for HP, Apple is collaborating with LG Display "to develop another foldable OLED panel". This panel would use ultra-thin glass, eliminating the use of the current polymer that most screens use today.
The report is the second proof that folding products are being prepared in Apple's supply chain since, what The Elec reports, is in line with what analyst Ross Young already reported about the plans that Apple has and how they are already exploring the possibilities of launching foldable MacBooks with approximately 20-inch screens.
Ross Young said that these devices could represent a new category within Apple products and that they would have a dual use, being a notebook with a keyboard built into the screen when it is folded or a larger monitor when it is stretched out. The devices would incorporate 4K or higher resolutions according to the analyst.
While Ross Young described these products as "foldable notebooks" and pointed to the device being a foldable iPad Pro, but The Elec clarifies that the panels under development would serve for tablets and notebooks so we would not see only one folding product category according to the latest information.
According to Young, Apple would launch its folding devices not before 2025, with 2026 or 2027 being the most likely dates. Everything indicates that there is still a long way to go before the launch of folding devices by Apple, but are they really needed? Are users waiting for it? Leave us your impressions in the comments!