HP is rumored to be developing an all-screen foldable laptop with a 17-inch OLED panel, and it’s tipped to arrive as soon as late 2022. With LG Display announcing its vision of 17-inch foldable OLED notebooks and Asus revealing its Zenbook 17 Fold OLED during CES 2022, HP’s bendable laptop may join the new era of laptops.
According to South Korean news outlet The Elec, SK IE Technology will provide transparent polyimide film, covering the bendable OLED panels, to LG Display. The OLED supplier will manufacture the OLED panels for HP’s new notebook. The report goes on to state that SK IE Technology will make 10,000 units of the film in the third quarter of this year.
As for the laptop itself, it’s expected to feature a 4K (3840×2160) in-folding panel that’s 17 inches when unfolded and 11 inches when folded. That’s noticeable bigger than the 13.3-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, which holds the title of the world’s first foldable PC. While the report states HP’s foldable laptop could arrive later in 2022, it could also be revealed at CES 2023.
If HP manages to deliver a laptop with a bendable 4K OLED display, it will join a couple of brands that may have an all-screen foldable laptop of their own. For one, Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED is already on full show with a 17.3-inch foldable OLED (FOLED) 2560×1920 resolution touchscreen, 12th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. There’s even a 12.5-inch model.
Apple is also rumored to be preparing for a 20-inch foldable notebook. According to oft-reliable Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) CEO Ross Young, the foldable notebook would introduce a new product category, being able to function like a MacBook with an on-screen keyboard when folded, and like an iMac monitor when unfolded with external peripherals. Apparently, the foldable product would also come with 4K capabilities, and possibly higher.
Is an era of foldable all-screen laptops upon us? HP and Apple have yet to officially announce their notebooks with bendable OLED panels, so take this in with a pinch of salt. However, SK IE Technology will be the exclusive supplier of polyimide film, and this will apparently also be used for Asus’ Zenbook 17 Fold OLED. In any case, if you’re after foldable gadgets, check out the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3.
