The foldable iPad would hit the market sooner than expected, in 2024 according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. It would be Apple’s first new-generation foldable, ruling out that this ‘honor’ fell to the foldable iPhone or another of the rumored ones, a hybrid between MacBook and iPad with 20 inches delayed until 2026.
The category of “foldable” devices continues to gain ground, especially in smartphones. But there are other types of products where these new form factors made possible by improved technology in flexible displays can really fit well. We have already seen a laptop with this design (such as the impressive Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold) and tablets are another segment where the offer will arrive.
Apple has resisted so far knowing that foldables only represent a small part of the total. But it’s only a matter of time. The bet of the folding iPad is not less. Apple continues to lead the tablet market, but for this year sales are expected to drop by up to 15%. Not surprising given the huge sales levels of the pandemic years. The market simply needs a break.
By 2024 Apple prepares the recovery with the renewal of the iPad mini and the folding iPad that the analyst mentions. Not too many details are known except that it would be a small model, between 8 and 9 inches diagonally with the flexible screen as the protagonist. Ming-Chi Kuo cites a “carbon fiber” kickstand produced by Chinese component maker Anjie Technology. Of course, Apple will power one of its latest M-series chipsets and support stylus pens.
A foldable iPad, if it’s real, would definitely be the most interesting Apple tablet in a long time. Not only would it be Apple’s first foldable device of any kind, but it would also take the iPad in a whole new direction, making it a competitor against convertibles and Windows 2-in-1s as well.
We will see. In the last two years we have received this type of “forecasts” from analysts that have not finally materialized. And there are many rumors about it in addition to the small tablet that Kuo mentions. Another is a folding tablet with a 16-inch OLED screen; another is a tablet with intelligent assistant functions; another is a 20-inch MacBook and finally we have the folding iPhone, surely the most anticipated among consumers.
Analysts expect the foldable smartphone market to exceed 27 million annual units sold by 2025. The vast majority are Samsung-branded. Apple works at its own pace, but don’t hesitate, when it enters a market, even later, it does so with the clear objective of taking it by storm.
