All-screen M5 MacBook with foldable display and Vision Pro price now rumored for 2026

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May 23 2024

Apple is working on all-screen foldable devices. Unlike its competitors, however, its focus seems less on foldable smartphones and tablets, and instead on an all-screen foldable laptop.

Ming-Chi Kuo has previously reported that Apple was developing a 20.3-inch MacBook device for 2027, but today the analyst has shared several key new details about the futuristic MacBook model. One such detail is that Apple is now eyeing an earlier 2026 launch for the product.

Expected features of the first all-screen MacBook

Here are some of the key features Kuo expects to see in the all-screen MacBook:

  • Multiple foldable screen options are still possible, with the rumored 20.3-inch display potentially replaced by an 18.8-inch panel. The former would, when folded, resemble a current 14-15-inch MacBook, while the latter would correspond better to a modern day 13-14-inch model like the smaller MacBook Air.
  • A 2026 debut is now expected for the device, one year earlier than previously reported.
  • The MacBook is expected to receive an M5-series chip, which lines up with the expected timeline of the M4 spreading to the whole Mac lineup by the end of 2025.
  • Apple’s goal is to provide a crease-free design for the foldable display.

Here is Kuo on Apple’s design ambitions:

Apple aims to make the panel as crease-free as possible, requiring high design specifications for both the panel and the hinge. 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.

This high component cost means this MacBook is expected to reach a starting price point that greatly exceeds Apple’s current laptop line. Kuo writes:

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 BOM cost of the foldable MacBook could approach that of the current Vision Pro.

9to5Mac’s Take

An all-screen foldable MacBook sounds like a futuristic device in many respects. Not only has Apple never produced an all-screen foldable, but the thought of a MacBook potentially launching without a physical keyboard or trackpad seems unlikely. 2026 is still a decent ways off, but if that new targeted release date does hold true, we should expect to hear a steady drip of additional reporting on the device in the months and years ahead.

source:All-screen M5 MacBook with foldable display now rumored for 2026 – 9to5Mac