14 DAY TRIAL // Well, it’s about time. According to recent information that made its way to the web, Asus is one of the first companies to launch a foldable laptop, with the debut expected to take place in the second quarter of the year.
It goes without saying that very little information is available at this point, but on the other hand, Display Supply Chain Consultants CEO Ross Young says the work has already started on the device.
Asus plans to use a BOE panel, with its foldable notebook to see the daylight at some point this year. The project is in its early days, it seems, but this is happening mostly because of the lack of optimizations on the software side.
In other words, Asus is pushing hard to bring a foldable device to the market, but right now, the company needs to make sure everything is working properly from a software perspective as well.
Device already in the works
It’s not clear what operating system Asus wants to use, but right now, the only platform that seems to be ready for a foldable form factor is Android. Of course, a notebook running Android would be very limited from a productivity perspective, so it’ll certainly be interesting to see if Asus is actually working with Microsoft to prepare Windows for a foldable future or the company just wants to use a different route.
But nevertheless, it’s all just a matter of time until foldable laptops become more common, especially as this new display concept is already conquering the mobile market.
The only question is when this will actually happen and whether it’ll come with a price allowing for fast mass adoption. Given the displays are among the most expensive part of such electronics, it goes without saying a foldable notebook can’t be cheap, so the price will almost definitely be a critical factor for the short-term adoption of this concept.