‘Apple working on foldable iPad, to be released in 2028’

Apple is currently working on an iPad with a foldable screen that measures 20 inches or more.

At least, that’s what tech journalist Mark Gurman claims in his weekly newsletter Power On.

Smartphones, tablets, laptops: these are the devices with traditional form factors we’ve come to love when it comes to computing. However, according to Gurman, Apple is working on its next ‘breakthrough device,’ namely a giant iPad with a foldable screen.

“Apple knows that customers -gamers, software developers, or just people watching movies- want the biggest screen possible. The only way to sensibly ship a mobile product with a large display (one approaching 20 inches or so) is to make it foldable. Otherwise, it’s too hard to throw into a purse or backpack,” Gurman says.

The tablet that has yet to be released allegedly has the size of two iPad Pros next to each other. At the moment, the largest iPad has a screen that measures 13 inches in diameter.

Inside sources tell Gurman that Apple’s goal is to launch a foldable without a crease in the middle. The Cupertino-based tech company has been working on that concept for several years, and apparently it has made impressive progress on this front.

“But it’s too early to tell if Apple will get rid of it [the crease, ed.] altogether,” the Apple reporter says. Competitors like Samsung, Lenovo, and Microsoft launched their first foldable devices years ago but unsuccessfully tried to eliminate the crease.

The rumored foldable iPad won’t merge the current iPad and Mac lineups, Furman says. The device is likely designed for people who will use it to replace an iPad for creative tasks and light computer work. Mac computers on the other hand will stick around for more ‘heavy-duty jobs’.

Gurman guesses that the foldable will run on iPadOS or some sort of variant. Apple aims to launch the device around 2028.

This isn’t the first time people have suggested Apple is working on some sort of foldable. In 2023, market analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that Apple would launch a foldable iPad this year. So far, that hasn’t happened.

Apple has never officially revealed that it is working on a foldable device.