According to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple could be on the verge of releasing a foldable iPad as soon as next year. In a tweet posted early Monday, Kuo said he is “positive about the foldable iPad in 2024 and expects this new model will boost shipments and improve the product mix.” He added that the device would feature a “carbon fiber” kickstand produced by Chinese component manufacturer Anjie Technology.
The prediction is significantly earlier than the last major foldable iPad prediction, which came from Display Supply Chain Consultant analyst Ross Young last February. He reported that Apple is developing a foldable iPad/MacBook hybrid with a roughly 20-inch folding screen but anticipated that it won’t be released until 2026. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman later reported that Apple has been exploring a dual-screen foldable and added that the bottom half of the display would serve as a virtual keyboard when the device is used as a MacBook-style clamshell.
In October, Gurman didn’t give an exact release date prediction but noted that Apple’s foldable iPad could come out “later in the decade.” Kuo had previously said that a foldable iPhone might release in 2023, but there haven’t been many rumors about it lately, making it hard to imagine it releasing in the next two years.
Kuo also predicted a drop in iPad shipments between 10 and 15 percent year-over-year in 2023. Given the bump in sales enjoyed by tech companies during the covid lockdowns and the drops many have experienced more recently, a decline in tablet shipments this year wouldn’t be surprising.
Finally, Kuo expects the next iPad that Apple releases to be the iPad Mini. He believes a new model will enter production in the first quarter of 2024, succeeding its last refresh in 2021.
