A foldable iPad with a carbon fiber stand is reportedly in the works and could launch in early 2024.
This information comes from notable Apple tipster Ming-Chi Kuo via a Twitter thread (opens in new tab). While not much can be gleaned from the short thread, what it reveals paints a pretty interesting picture for the tech giant in 2023. According to Kuo, Chinese manufacturer Anjie Technology will and is supplying the carbon fiber stand for the new device is expected to benefit greatly from this “growing trend towards foldable devices with stands”. He goes on to say that the upcoming iPad will launch alongside a redesigned iPad Mini, which “will likely begin mass production around the same timeframe.” For the near future, it will become somewhat unfriendly to consumers. Kuo says it’s possible “there won’t be any new iPad releases in the near future [nine to 12] Months” while Apple works on its upcoming devices. He also predicts that iPad shipments will fall by 10 to 15 percent year-on-year in 2023.
The NPD Group, a market research company, reports on tech sales in the US (opens in new tab) is “expected to be down eight percent year-on-year by the end of 2022.” That number is expected to drop another five percent this year. With consumer spending set to fall, Apple appears to be closing the hatches for a rocky 2023. Although the near future looks a little bleak, Kuo is confident that both the foldable iPad and the new iPad mini model will “drive shipments [plus] improve the product mix.”
Dominating rumours
News about foldable Apple devices has been circulating around the internet for about a couple of years. Back in 2021 (opens in new tab), Kuo said that a foldable iPhone with an eight-inch screen will be released this year. However, given the “key technology and mass production issues” affecting the device, that probably won’t happen just yet. At the earliest this “iPhone Flip,‘, as it’s sometimes called, is set to hit the market sometime in 2025 and will be very expensive. A leak suggests the price is hovering around a staggering $2,500.
Between a foldable iPad and iPhone, Analyst firm CCS Insights argues that the former is more likely to happen first given that a foldable smartphone will be so expensive and the inevitable technical issues the device will have to face. Something has to get bloody first, figuratively speaking. It might as well be the iPad and nothing as “high profile as an iPhone”. Samsung lends credence to this theory As it predicts, Apple will also launch its first foldable device in the next year. Just like CCS Insights, the Android giant also believes it will be some sort of tablet.
So it looks like a foldable Apple device is nothing short of an inevitability at this point. Just don’t expect either an iPad model or an iPhone Flip to show up at this year’s WWDC23 event. The company is currently playing its cards close to the chest.
If you are interested in a foldable phone, you need to buy an Android for it. Make sure TechRadar has been updated recently List of the best foldable phones for 2023 with devices like the Huawei Mate XS and the Galaxy Fold 4.
