Top analyst says 20.3-inch foldable MacBook in development

TF International's Ming-Chi Kuo is arguably the most well-known and accurate Apple analyst around. Who can ever forget the amazing report he released about the "revolutionary" front-facing camera on what turned out to be the iPhone X. Nearly seven months before the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X were unveiled, Kuo knew the screen sizes for all three and mentioned how the iPhone X would use face recognition instead of Touch ID to unlock the device (keep in mind that the iPhone X was known as the iPhone 8 at the time).

In a post on "X" today, Kuo wrote, "Recently, I've received many inquiries about whether Apple plans to mass-produce the foldable iPhone or iPad in 2025 or 2026. My latest survey indicates that currently, Apple's only foldable product with a clear development schedule is the 20.3-inch MacBook, expected to enter mass production in 2027." The 20.3-inch screen mentioned by Kuo would apparently be the size of the internal display with the foldable device fully open. Kuo doesn't mention anything else about the device.

Considering that Kuo points out that the foldable MacBook is the only foldable that Apple has a "clear development schedule" for, it would seem that those dreaming about a foldable iPhone or iPad are about to wake up in a nightmare. The most recent rumors called for Apple to develop a clamshell iPhone foldable. Last month, Apple reportedly halted the development of a foldable iPhone after concerns about the durability and utility of such a device.

Apple's fears correctly panned out when a Samsung-supplied foldable display used in a prototype foldable iPhone "broke down after a few days" of heavy-duty testing conducted by Apple. The concern about the durability of a foldable iPhone reportedly led Apple to consider a foldable iPad since such a device wouldn't be shoved in the user's pocket and such a device would also be thicker. The same things apply to a foldable MacBook which makes such a device more likely to surface than a foldable iPhone.

Kuo does say that we shouldn't expect a foldable MacBook to enter mass production until 2027. If you're interested, you might want to start going through your couch cushions for spare change right now. Interestingly, Kuo's report dovetails with a rumor from last summer stating that Apple is working on a foldable MacBook Pro with a 20.5-inch screen. The report from last July said that Apple is waiting for displays to be creaseless before it releases a foldable device.