Apple plans to introduce a new foldable iPad in 2028 as part of its strategy to create larger screens for different uses while maintaining portability, Bloomberg site recently reported.
The designers of the American brand are developing a tablet-like device that doubles its size when extended and have been working on it for two years, as confirmed by sources close to journalist Mark Gurman.
The technology company aims to eliminate the creases that appear on the panels of folding phones when they are unfolded, which is why it has focused on achieving an “almost invisible” fold, according to the analyst in his weekly newsletter ‘Power On’.
The largest iPad model currently has a 13-inch panel, and because it understands that customers are looking for the largest screen possible, Apple has determined that the only way to create a portable product that is as large as 20 inches is to make it foldable.
Gurman said Microsoft prototyped a similar device with Courier more than a decade ago , and in 2019 it materialized in a dual-screen tablet called Neo. It removed it from its website just a few months later.
Lenovo has also worked on this concept with the Yoga Book 9i model, equipped with two 13.3-inch OLED screens, which are placed side by side. Unlike Lenovo, Apple plans to use a single piece of glass, without a hinge, which would increase its price.
Gurman said the device, which is scheduled to launch in 2028, will be a hybrid between an iPad and a Mac, advanced enough to run macOS apps and will support accessories like the Apple Pencil.
The journalist also commented that another option that Apple is considering is a foldable version of the iPhone, something that leakers such as Ming-Chi Kuo and media such as The Information have already reported on previously. This, taking into account that it is the only high-end telephone provider that does not yet have it: Samsung, Huawei and Google, among other brands, already have their ‘fold’ version.
He also said that Apple’s idea is to offer as many variations of hardware products as possible, with the aim of getting consumers to buy them for different uses. For this reason, the technology company has reportedly ruled out merging the iPad and Mac lines.
