LG working on foldable Apple MacBook OLED screens, to supply HP with 17-inch 4K laptop display that folds into an 11-incher

LG is gearing up to supply Hewlett-Packard (HP) with flexible OLED displays, reportedly for future foldable laptops, reports Korean media today. LG Display will be making up to 10,000 of the 17-inch foldable notebook OLED panels for delivery to HP, and mass production is slated to begin in the third quarter. This might mean that HP will have a laptop with a foldable display announced in time for the holiday shopping spree. LG supplied the flexible 13.3-inch display for the ThinkPad X1 Fold back in 2020, after all, so it already has an experience with bendy laptop screens. 

While the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold display unfurls from a 6.2-inch to a 13.3-inch display diagonal and has 2048x1536 resolution, the 17-incher that LG is preparing for HP will be a 4K display that goes to a very usable 11-inch device when folded. LG actually showcased one 17-inch flexible OLED panel at the CES expo back in January and said at the time that it was aimed at laptops, tablets, and even monitors. The flexible screen in question supports both touch and stylus inputs and could very well be the display that LG will be supplying to HP for its future foldable display laptop plans.

The Korean supply chain industry sources also mention in the report that LG is working with Apple on a  flexible OLED screen for future foldable MacBooks or iPads, too. Apple, however, demands that its foldable screen is made with ultra-thin glass (UTG) cover on top instead of the easily scratchable polyimide that covered, say, the original Galaxy Z Fold. Samsung already uses UTG for its foldable phones like the Z Fold 3, but is yet to employ it on a larger foldable device. This is not the first rumor that LG is developing OLED displays for future MacBooks, but the new twist is that its panels that Apple is experimenting with may be of the foldable variety.

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