Foldable devices are all the fad right now, be it a new take on big screens (like what Samsung is doing with Galaxy Fold) or going old school (like Motorola Razr). It seems to be a trend that’s catching people’s fancy and Apple is looking to get its share of the pie as well.
The rumours, stemming from a thread of tweets shared by Ming-Chi Kuo – an analyst at TF International Securities, suggest that Apple is looking to unleash into the world its own foldable device in the near future, say 2024. But the surprise doesn’t stop there. When we said ‘foldable device’, I’m sure many of you imagined an iPhone folding in half. Won’t that be something! But we’ll all have to wait a few years to see something like that because, for now, it’s possibly the iPad that will be getting more ‘flexible’, if you get the hint.
So Many Questions!
This rumour opens up a can of worms which certainly has its advantage in creating interest in the product. What will the foldable iPad look like? Will it be a horizontal or vertical fold? Will they get rid of the charging port next? And the question that hardcore Apple fans tend to skip over: how much will this new iPad cost? Well, it might be more than you think. Why? Because it’s not just the iPad that you get. The device is rumoured to come with a carbon fibre kickstand, letting it stay upright from multiple angles. As a first in a long while, Apple is adding an accessory in the box rather than removing one! The benevolence of Tim Cook shines brightly indeed.
Display analyst Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), suggests that the device would be 20 inches long (!!) but he also places the release farther away, around 2026-27. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg believes that the new iPad will have a dual-screen set-up, with the lower half acting like a virtual keyboard when used like a Mac. Suffice it to say many reliable sources have commented on Apple’s foldable future, but all these are still unsubstantiated, albeit exciting, rumours.
But a question that pops into my head is this: why iPad and not the iPhone? Could it be because iPad shipments are predicted to go down by 10%- 15% in the year 2023 because there aren’t any significant upgrades to the device as such? Or is it that they don’t want to take such a huge risk with their superstar product – the iPhone? At least, not immediately.
Anyway, we can’t wait for Apple’s version of a foldable device, which will put all our speculations to rest. Meanwhile, we’re binging on all the news we can find out there so that we’re able to bring you the freshest from the rumour mills.
What do you think? Will Apple match the roaring success of its competitor’s take on foldable phones? Tell us in the comments!