A foldable iPad is currently in the works! Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple is reportedly in the process of making a foldable display that may transform into both a Mac and iPad. He thinks it would be entirely touch-based, sans a physical keyboard.
As early as last week, Ross Young from Display Supply Chain Consultants also reported that Apple is trying to venture into the world of notebook computers expectedly with a foldable display.
According to him, Apple is working to build a 20-inch foldable display which will be released in 2026: “On the other hand, we are now showing Apple in our roadmap for foldable notebooks.
We hear there is interest at the most significant size yet, around 20x. This size could create a new category for Apple and result in an authentic dual-use product, a notebook with a full-size keyboard when folded and for use as a monitor when not folded and used with an external keyboard.
It may also allow for UHD/4K resolution or even higher at that size. The time frame is likely later than 2025, though. It could be 2026 or 2027″.
Apple Foldable iPad Release Date
Apple Foldable iPad is expected to hit the market around 2026.
Right after this news, Gurman also backed up Young’s claim, saying that he too has info that Apple is working on this technology. In the latest edition of his newsletter Power On, Gurman further states that Apple’s massive foldable will transform into a Mac or iPad depending on the user’s requirements.
In addition, Gurman says that Apple will ditch a physical keyboard and trackpad in favor of a whole touch experience on the device: “Apple is working on a foldable device with a roughly 20-inch screen, according to Ross Young at Display Supply Chain Consultants, who cited supply-chain checks.
There’s been speculation over how Apple could adopt such technology: The company could go with a foldable 20-inch screen attached to a physical keyboard or have one side of the display serving as a virtual keyboard. I’m told Apple has indeed been exploring a dual-screen, foldable MacBook/iPad hybrid that would take the second approach.
It would trade in the physical keyboard and trackpad for a complete touch-screen base (the Lenovo model above gives you a sense of what that might look like). The device has been in development for the past couple of years, but will it see the light of day?
According to Young, the company is targeting a release around 2026, which would put in the same period as an Apple car and its long-anticipated AR glasses“.
Although this news is significant, it still does not come off as any surprise. Apple has been experimenting with foldable for a while now, but up until now, the rumors were focused on a foldable iPhone, not on an iPad or Mac.
However, what Apple brings to the table remains to be seen that will be different from what Samsung or Lenovo have already released in the market. Apple is expected to announce a new iPad Air and at least one new Mac at a (rumored) March event.