Intel: Folding Display Laptops at Least 2 Years Away

Regardless of whether a laptop with a folding display fills you with joy or dread, Intel doesn't think we'll see such devices appear for at least the next two years.

As the Nikkei Asian Review reports, Joshua D. Newman, Intel's general manager of mobile innovation and vice president of the company's Client Computing Group, confirmed that the chip giant is exploring folding laptop screens with display manufacturers. Newman explained at the Intel symposium in Taipai this week that, "It's early pathfinding now, and we are trying to understand the capability and the limitation of the [foldable] technology."

Intel is exploring such screens with well-known display makers including LG Display, Samsung, Sharp, and BOE technology Group. So far, only Samsung has released a folding display in a product, but that backfired due to quality issues. The Galaxy Fold smartphone didn't last more than a couple of days in the hands of reviewers and the public launch has now been delayed until the kinks are worked out.

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Intel is being cautious with regards to the technology and Newman predicts it will take "at least some two years" before laptops with folding displays appear for sale. I doubt anyone would be surprised if it took five years, especially if that meant we got glass instead of plastic folding displays, technology that Corning is already working on.

Two years from now Intel will be making the move to 7nm chips, which should help with laptop battery life if they turn into all-display devices. However, the question we need to ask is: does anyone really want an all-display laptop? I for one don't want to lose the physical keyboard and be required to type on glass all day!

Recommended by Our Editors

Samsung's Galaxy Fold Panic

Corning Is Developing Gorilla Glass for Foldable Phones

Acer introduces a gaming laptop that can flip and fold