Apple’s first computer with a foldable display will reportedly be an iPad. And the folding tablet could be on the market as early as 2024.
This is just the latest in a long series of reports about the device, so it might really be happening.
Foldable iPad could be only a year away
There are numerous Androids with foldable screens already available, though this is a niche product with less than 1% of the world smartphone market. Apple is reportedly going with a foldable tablet instead.
“Supply chain sources reported that Apple is working with suppliers to develop a foldable iPad, and small-scale production could begin as early as the end of 2024,” DigiTimes said Wednesday. The wait might be a bit longer though, with the product launching in “late 2024 or early 2025” according to the Taiwan-based newspaper.
No new details of the proposed device are available. It’s not known how large the device will be — the device could fold up smaller to be more portable, or fold out larger to offer more viewing area. It’s possible Apple itself hasn’t yet decided the screen size this early in the development process.
Price is also an open question. Folding Androids are often significantly more expensive than standard ones.
Not coming out of the blue
In recent years, there have been previous reports of foldable iPad leaking out of Cupertino. Most notably, Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with TF International Securities analyst and a reliable tipster, said in January 2023 that a foldable iPad will launch in 2024. Plus, a report from April 2022 claimed Apple teamed up with LG Display to build foldable iPads and MacBooks.
Kuo’s report from earlier this year said the folding tablet will feature a carbon-fiber kickstand able to hold the device up for hands-free use.
If all this is true, it apparently means Apple is passing on a foldable iPhone… for now.
