That’s true, but the devices known as “foldable laptops” have flexible, bendy screens.

They’re akin tofoldable phonesbut in a larger format.

What Is a Foldable Laptop?

Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED partially folded, with the screen turned of, sitting on a table with electronic device boxes in the background

Image credit: Bemfica de Oliva/How-To Geek

The concept of a foldable laptop is just that: a laptop with a foldable screen.

Reaching that form factor involves complex engineering challenges, but the definition is as simple as it gets.

Foldable laptops are mostly the same idea, but applied to larger screens.

HP Spectre Foldable promotional photo, with a white background, the laptop is partially opened, in the vertical position, with the keyboard partially covering the bottom half

Image credit:HP UK

Are Foldable Laptops Good?

To be fair, foldable laptops are not terrible.

But, as of October 2023, they’re definitely not good enough for their price tags.

Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED promotional photo, on a white background, with the screen turned on and partially opened in the horizontal position

Image credit:ASUS

Earlier this year, I spent a few weeks using theAsus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED.

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Fold 16is the least expensive foldable laptop around.

Yet it retails for $2,500 (but requires another $250 for a keyboard + stylus combo).

LG Gram Fold promotional photo, white background, the laptop is opened at a 90-degree angle, shown from the front

Image Credit:LG Korea

The most expensive one,HP’s Spectre Foldable 17, costs a whopping $4,999!

Their screens don’t fold, but they wipe the floor with any foldable laptop’s specs.

That’s because their format limits functionality.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 promotional photo, the laptop is almost completely shut, seen fron an inclined side angle, screen turned on, white background

Image credit:Lenovo

Making foldable laptops, on the other hand, brings difficulties not present when building regular ones.

Therefore, underpowering is currently the only way to prevent overheating.

That’s for sure not my definition of “good.”

It’s not that foldable laptops are a bad idea, their execution just isn’t good enough yet.

Should I Buy a Foldable Laptop?

Definitely no, as of late 2023, when this article is first being written.

But they were usable enough to make theearly adopter painbearable.

Foldable laptops are even “greener” than that, like concept devices that somehow are reaching the stores.

And their price tag is based more on the novelty than anything else.

There isn’t much in terms of sleek design, performance or even practicality behind that premium.

The reason is that there are some technological challenges yet to be overcome, so foldable laptops become viable.

Will Foldable Laptops Become More Affordable?

Eventually, they will.

That’s not to say foldable laptops with reasonable prices will only come 70 years from now.

It’s just that technology that seems unthinkable at some point in time often eventually becomes commonplace.

Just look at what’s happening with foldable phones.

The original Galaxy Fold cost US$1,980 in 2019 (equivalent to almost $2,400 today).

And clamshell foldables can be had for as low as $700 nowadays.