We’ve been hearing about foldable iPads and iPhones for years, but we haven’t seen anything until now. But now we have information from suppliers, who are talking about an announcement up to and including 2024.
Rumors want a foldable iPad to be announced before the foldable iPad. The first foldable Android was announced in 2014 and it’s been a little over 4 years since then. Of course, when an Apple competitor does something different, the rumor mill wants Apple to follow, but Apple has never worked that way. The truth is that the first Galaxy Fold was not a great success, as as a new technology it came with several childhood diseases. Apple doesn’t create something if the technology isn’t mature enough. Analysts have been inconsistent in their predictions about a foldable Apple device, especially whether it will be a phone or a tablet first.
Now the analyzes are starting to line up, as more and more people agree that a foldable iPad will be announced first, and we might see a foldable phone later. Analyst Ross Young said last year that there was no indication of the supply chain working on a foldable iPhone and that he doesn’t expect anything before 2025.
This was later backed up by Ming-Chi Kuo, who further suggested that the first device could be a foldable iPad, with CCS Insight supporting the same view. Here comes the issue of what everyone considers a tablet and what a phone when talking about foldables. Is the Galaxy Fold 5 a foldable phone that unfolds and becomes a tablet, or is it a tablet that folds and becomes a phone? Of course, no foldable phone reaches 10″ or 12.9 inches, but everything remains relative, which is why we have different analyst opinions. Ming-Chi Kuo has stated that we may have foldable iPads as soon as 2024. Now comes a new report from DigiTimes, which says that this is possible, but suggests that the announcement will probably happen in 2025.
Supply chain sources said Apple is working with suppliers to develop a foldable iPad, and small-scale production could begin as early as late 2024. This suggests that Apple may announce the product in late 2024 or early 2025. While the design has yet to be finalized, mass production could begin as early as late 2024 based on current progress. If the above is true, then we’re looking at test production in 2024 and an announcement in 2025, if of course the test devices don’t have issues that need time to work out. Announcing a foldable tablet first makes sense, because Apple generally prefers nothing else to compare its products to.
So a foldable tablet is what it takes for the company’s entry into foldables. If the information is correct, we will have more information and leaks very soon, since when something goes into mass production, even if it is a test, there will always be someone to pass on information and pictures.
0 Comments