The first foldable PC era is unfolding

Lenovo launched the first foldable laptop in 2020, but the first real era of foldable PCs is only starting to unfold now. Today, LG became the latest OEM to announce a foldable-screen laptop, right after HP announced its first attempt, the Spectre Foldable PC, earlier this month.

LG only announced the Gram Fold in South Korea thus far. LG didn't immediately respond when I asked if it has plans to release the machine in the US.

A Google translation of LG's Korean announcement said the laptop is 9.4-mm (0.37-inches) thick when unfolded and used like a 17-inch tablet. Alternatively, the OLED PC can be folded in half to use like an approximately 12.2-inch laptop. In the latter form, a virtual keyboard can appear on the bottom screen, and you can dock a Bluetooth keyboard to the bottom screen or pair a keyboard with the system wirelessly. The screen has 1920×2560 pixels for a pixel density of 188.2 pixels per inch.

One draw of foldable PCs is supposed to be portability. The Gram Fold weighs 2.76 pounds (1,250g), which is even lighter than LG's latest Gram clamshell laptop (2.9 pounds).

According to Android Authority, LG's laptop will have an Intel Core i5-1335U, which has 8 Efficient cores (E-cores) at up to 3.4 GHz, two Performance cores (P-cores) at up to 4.6 GHz, 12 threads, and 12MB of cache. The PC is also supposed to have 16GB of RAM, a 512GB NVMe SSD, a 72 Wh battery, Wi-Fi 6E, and two USB-C ports. LG is claiming 99.5 percent DCI-P3 colour coverage with the laptop.

LG said the Gram Fold will release on October 4 for 4.99 million won (about $3,726).

Mass production

Although LG hasn't confirmed its foldable PC in the US or other countries yet, it's highly possible it will come out in the US. LG previously released groundbreaking products in South Korea before selling them in the US and beyond.

It's also possible we'll see similar designs from other laptop brands, as panel supplier LG Display announced today that it will start mass production of 17-inch foldable OLED laptop panels.

The foldable OLED is made with what LG Display calls a Tandem OLED structure, using two-stack OLED technology, "which adds an extra organic emitting layer to deliver brighter screens while effectively dispersing energy across OLED components for optimal stability and longer lifespans," LG Display's announcement said.

LG Display first entered mass production of foldable (13.3-inch) laptop panels in 2020. However, foldable PCs didn't immediately take off then, despite the panel being used in Lenovo's 2020 ThinkPad X1 Fold.

Foldable PCs lacked the software support that Windows 11 now affords with its Snap windows layouts that make organizing windows across dual or folded screens more intuitive. The operating system proved reliable for handling dual-screen window layouts when I reviewed Lenovo's Yoga Book 9i. The 2-in-1 laptop isn't a foldable but, rather, has a second 13.3-inch OLED screen where you would expect its physical keyboard and touchpad to be.

Foldable onslaught

Mass production of foldable OLED laptop panels doesn't guarantee mass adoption. But as you can see below, numerous PCs have come out recently or are coming out that apply OLED in innovative ways for dual-screen-like experiences (note that specs for unreleased models could change):

LG's Gram Fold seems to use the same panel as the upcoming Spectre Fold. But design choices, like 93 Wh of power via two battery packs, inflate the Spectre Fold's debut price. It's tough to rationalize $5,000 with a last-gen CPU, but the CPU cores in HP's foldable do have higher max speeds (4.7 GHz versus 4.6 GHz for the P-cores and 3.5 GHz versus 3.4 GHz for the E-cores) than the Gram Fold's. Productivity performance and heat management across all the above devices will be fascinating to compare.

The foldable onslaught doesn't seem like it will end there. Asus, which released its foldable PC with a BOE panel, has long played with dual-screen laptops and was an early participant in the foldable laptop space, right after Lenovo. Earlier this month, an Asus spokesperson told me its foldable laptop was discontinued but then followed up days later to say that the PC is "not quite discontinued yet, but there are no plans to be shared as of right now." That's pretty vague, but it's possible Asus is still interested in foldable PCs, even if I can no longer find a new Zenbook 17 Fold OLED for sale in the US.

In July, TM Roh, head of Samsung's mobile experience business, said Samsung was exploring foldable laptops, too. Lenovo is supposed to release a follow-up to its 13-inch foldable in Q4.

Even for those uninterested in buying a foldable PC, this wave of uniquely designed OLED laptops is invigorating for the laptop space ahead. If you've felt that laptops have lacked imagination in recent years, this is a noteworthy time.

This first era, though, is characterized by high prices that don't align with the machines' productivity potential. Durability with this emerging form factor is also questionable. LG, for example, is claiming 30,000 folds with its upcoming PC, but many will need to see long-term results from real users before committing to spending thousands.

But for those looking for something more adventurous than the flurry of mildly refreshed ultralight laptops OEMs hit us with annually, foldable PCs are at least poised to put on a show.

Listing image by LG