Samsung confirms that they're working on next-gen Foldables for Hybrid Tablet-Notebooks
In 2018, Patently Apple posted a patent application report about a dual display MacBook. Then in 2019 we posted another report titled "One Day after Microsoft gave us a Sneak Peek of Surface Neo, a Microsoft Patent Filing covering a Key Feature was published by USPTO. Originally, Microsoft's Surface Neo was to be a 2-display notebook, very much like the new Lenovo Yoga Book 9i as presented below that was released earlier this year.
Then in 2020 we posted a report titled "Intel, Samsung, Microsoft are Collaborating on the new 'Horseshoe Bend Project' that covers 17" Foldable Display Notebook standards." The original project had shifted, awaiting Samsung's large 17" single display tablet that could be folded over and work as a hybrid tablet-notebook with a mechanical keyboard accessory as presented in the Lenovo video. Typing on the display really doesn't cut if for real work and so the magnetic keyboard that sits on one part of the tablet creates a notebook like application.
With COVID-19 in full swing, the project was delayed. We're now learning from an interview with The Independent, that Samsung mobile's chief T.M. Roh talked about how the company is currently working on foldable tablets as well as laptops.
Roh stated that "People open up a book to read and open up a notebook to write something. When they’re not being used or when on the move and they can be folded shut, which makes them more compact and portable, as well as protecting important information inside. It’s just a natural part of human behavior." He later confirmed that the company is currently working on preparing the "foundation technology" for both foldable tablets and laptops and will launch these devices when they are “ready to provide meaningful innovation to consumers.”
He also talked about how the foldable tablet or a laptop needs to be thin and light so that it could be portable, but at the same time, strong enough so that users could use it without any worrying.
While no set date was provided, I think that Microsoft is working on Windows 12 that will be designed to work with Qualcomm's Oryon processor that could provide these hybrid tablet-notebooks the power to challenge Apple's M3 processor based devices. So at minimum, that's likely to happen in Q4 2024 or 2025.
While Apple Vision Pro will be an exciting product debuting in 2024, it certainly won't be ready for the workplace nor for regular consumers for some time. The hybrid tablet-notebook on the other hand is likely to be the next new device on the market in an effort to put some excitement back into the market. And while Wintel and partners are well advanced on this project, Apple continually files new patents for a similar device (01, 02, 03 and more). In late 2022, Samsung hinted that Apple was working on 20" foldable tablet.
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