In a note to clients — as noted by MacRumors — Haitong analyst Jeff Pu says Apple’s foldable iPad could be pushed from a 2025 release date to 2026.
Pu had said one Apple foldable with a 20.3-inch display would start production in late 2025, which was sooner than previously expected. However, Pu now thinks Apple will join the foldable market in the second quarter of 2026, compared to an earlier plan of late 2025, due to display durability issues.
In 2022 CCS Insight predicted Apple would launch a foldable iPad in two years’ time rather than start with a foldable iPhone.
“Right now it doesn’t make sense for Apple to make a foldable iPhone. We think they will shun that trend and probably dip a toe in the water with a foldable iPad,” Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight, told CNBC at the time. “A folding iPhone will be super high risk for Apple. Firstly, it would have to be incredibly expensive in order to not cannibalize the existing iPhones.”
I agree with Woods’ sentiments. However, I think they also apply to the iPad line. That said, Apple has filed for, or been issued, several patents for foldable smartphones and tablets.
For example, one patent granted in 2019 was for a “foldable cover and display for an electronic device” configured to be moved between a folded configuration and an unfolded configuration by bending the cover layer along the foldable region.
In the patent filing, Apple notes that, traditionally, electronic devices have a single form factor that may be driven by the size and shape of the display. Because many traditional displays are rigid or at least not flexible, a traditional device that is adaptable to accommodate multiple form factors includes the use of a mechanical hinge or pivot joint.
Apple says, that however, these traditional configurations used for traditional notebook and tablet devices are” inherently limited by the integration and size required by a separate mechanical hinge.” The tech giant is looking into a flexible display that doesn’t have the limitations or drawbacks associated with some traditional solutions.
Of course, Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product. (BTW, the accompanying mock-up of a foldable iPad is courtesy of in.mashable.com.)
