Apple’s first folding iPad could be small-scale production to begin in late 2024: report

Apple, which has long shied away from foldables, may soon join the segment. Previous reports highlighted a foldable iPad rather than a foldable iPhone, but that was it Mainly guesswork by eminent analysts. Turns out, there’s now some more evidence on that front with a source claiming that a foldable iPad will begin production next year and possibly even go on sale next year. Samsung may have had a pretty head start with foldables over the past several years, but Apple seems to be targeting a different segment entirely by recent data.

After years of dominance by Samsung, more smartphone manufacturers are slowly starting to show interest in the foldable smartphone segment. Samsung is the only smartphone brand that has announced and launched its foldable lineup in India over the years. It was only late last year and early this year, where more players like Motorola and Oppo entered the space, that OnePlus was the only brand to launch. Full size premium horizontal foldable after Techno’s Phantom V Fold Debuted earlier this year. According to a report DigitimesApple is also preparing its suppliers and lining up for the launch of its first iPad foldable.

Its supply chain sources claim that small-scale production of this iPad foldable could begin by the end of 2024, according to the report. While Apple seems clear that it wants to be a part of the foldable race, it has yet to submit its design for it. The source also claims that Apple will experiment with larger devices like the iPad before applying similar technology to iPhones.

According to the publication’s sources, Apple aims to achieve a cost-effective manufacturing using a simple design. The source also claims that Apple chose the iPad over the iPhone because iPadOS is similar to the iPhone’s iOS operating system. Another reason Apple chose the iPad for its first foldable is the sense that the iPad still makes up a small portion of Apple’s revenue compared to more important products like the iPhone.

Meanwhile, a previous report Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has hinted that Apple’s foldable iPad will use a carbon-fiber kickstand and arrive in 2024. New updates support old news. Back in January, Kuo noted that Apple would shift to the foldable iPad because Apple’s tablet shipments would decline further (10-15 percent) this year.