Apple MacBook With Foldable Screen and M5 Chip May Come in 2026

Apple is still working on its first foldable MacBook, and Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has more information about what to expect from the new product. According to Kuo’s latest hardware survey, this foldable MacBook could enter mass production in Q4 2025 and start shipping in 2026, ahead of his previous estimate of 2027.

Ross Young, the CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants was the first to report back in 2022 that Apple was working on a 20-inch foldable device, with a possible 2025 release date. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also reported soon after that the company was working on such a product.

Ming-Chi Kuo is now reporting that LG is Apple’s exclusive panel supplier for this device, with the company exploring the use of an 18.8″ panel instead of a 20.25” display. “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,” Kuo wrote.

The Apple analyst also expects this first foldable MacBook to use a next-gen M5 chip. The Apple M4 has just started shipping on the refreshed iPad Pro, and it’s expected to come to all Mac models throughout the beginning of next year.

Of course, the development of a new MacBook design with a crease-free foldable panel will increase production costs. Ming-Chi Kuo believes that the total cost of the foldable MacBook “could approach that of the current Vision Pro,” a product currently priced at $3,499. However, the MacBook audience is certainly bigger than the VR enthusiast audience, and the analyst believes that Apple could ship more than 1 million units of its first MacBook with a foldable screen in 2026.