Key Highlights
- Apple plans to launch a foldable iPad in 2024
- CCS Insight says the foldable iPad will likely come before the foldable iPhone
According to a recent claim, Apple might not debut the iPhone as its first foldable gadget. An analyst firm CCS Insight told CNBC that the U.S. technology giant will soon start experimenting with the foldable technology and will probably release an iPad with a folding screen in 2024.
The annual predictions report from CCS Insight contains forecasts made by the company’s analysts concerning upcoming trends and products. In its latest analysis, CCS Insight predicts that Apple will introduce a foldable iPad within two years rather than starting with a foldable iPhone. Unlike other smartphone makers like Samsung which have introduced foldable smartphones instead of tablets, this is the contrary move.
A move like this would “breathe new life” into the iPad lineup and allow the Cupertino, California-based company to test out foldable technology before going all in with a foldable iPhone.
Ben Wood, Chief of Research at CCS Insight, a company that has spent the previous 30 years monitoring changes in the mobile communications industry said that making a foldable iPhone at this time wouldn’t make any sense for Apple. He said, “We think they will shun that trend and probably dip a toe in the water with a foldable iPad.”
“A folding iPhone will be super high risk for Apple. Firstly, it would have to be incredibly expensive in order to not cannibalize the existing iPhones,” added Wood.
CCS Insight’s views are in line with other reports suggesting that Apple is working on foldable devices with screens larger than smartphones. For example, Apple leaker Mark Gurman said in February that the company was working on his “folding dual-screen MacBook/iPad hybrid” with a 20-inch screen.
Another analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, who has been accurate with many predictions about Apple, stated in April that while he had anticipated the company to release its first foldable device in the form of a smartphone as early as 2024. The new information had led him to believe that Apple may actually release a “foldable iPad or a hybrid of iPad and iPhone” in 2025 which is one year later than what CCS Insight is claiming.
