Respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports on Twitter that Apple will launch an “all-new design foldable iPad” with “a carbon fiber kickstand” next year. According to his supply chain sources, Kuo says he’s “positive” about the launch of the next-gen tablet, a rare proclamation from the analyst who usually errs on the side of caution.
Kuo offers few details about the new device, but there are already rumors that Apple is working on an iPad larger than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, possibly as big as 16-inch. It’s unclear how Apple would market the device or how small it would be when folded.
Despite plenty of foldable phones on the market from Samsung, Motorola, and Oppo, Apple has yet to launch a foldable device and there have been few rumors to suggest it’s imminent. Although Samsung shipped nearly 10 million foldable phones in 2022, the market still only represents a small fraction of phone sales.
A carbon fiber kickstand would be “lighter and more durable”, according to Kuo. It’s unclear whether he’s referring to a feature of the iPad itself or an accessory, as Apple has never made a device with a built-in kickstand, although cases like its new Magic Keyboard Folio include kickstands.
Little is known about the foldable iPad, including whether it has an exterior display to use when folded like the Galaxy Z Fold or how it will close without a gap. Samsung’s foldable devices all have a small U-shaped opening when closed due to the hinge, a design choice that Apple is very unlikely to use. A recent patent shows that Samsung is developing a “teardrop-type hinge” that allows the case to fold flush, but it has yet to find its way into a shipping product.
According to Kuo, the foldable iPad will follow an unprecedented lull in releases that could see more than a year without a new iPad. Apple released the iPad Pro M2 and 10th generation iPad in October, but Kuo doesn’t expect any new models for the next 9-12 months. He expects the iPad mini, which was last updated with a complete redesign in September 2021 and will likely bring little more than a new processor, “to begin mass production in 1Q24. “.
