One of Apple’s competitors in the smart device space apparently thinks a foldable iPad is on the way.
In a meeting with suppliers in October, Samsung reportedly shared that it believes Apple will join the foldable market in 2024, per The Elec. However, Samsung thinks Apple won’t debut with a foldable iPhone; instead it’ll be a foldable tablet, and the only tablet Apple makes is the iPad.
That backs up another recent report from CNBC, in which market firm CCS Insight also predicted a foldable iPad would launch in 2024.
Rumors of a foldable iPad have been floating around for at least three years. Back in 2019, IHS Markit analyst Jeff Lin predicted Apple could launch one “as soon as” 2020. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Whether that report was entirely wrong or Apple’s plans were shuffled by some combination of tech problems and COVID-19, we still haven’t seen a foldable device from the iPhone maker.
It’s not unreasonable to think Samsung knows something we don’t, though. That company has spent the last few years releasing and iterating on foldable devices like the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold lines, to apparent success. Samsung predicts that foldable sales will make up half its total sales by 2025, and the latest Flip and Fold devices are supposedly doing quite well in Europe, via The Korea Times.
So maybe Apple will jump on the foldable train soon after all. Hopefully, by then, more apps will take advantage of bending screens.
