Apple has yet to fold on the lingering image of itself as a maverick. But now that Samsung, Oppo, and Huawei are releasing plenty of foldable devices, one oft-cited analyst says that Apple will need a full year and change before it can release its first foldable device.
Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-known supply chain analyst who has gotten in front of Apple’s biggest announcements, tweeted early Monday that Chinese electronic parts manufacturer Suzhou Anjie Technology is contributing to some kind of foldable iPad device.
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Anjie Technology will be the new beneficiary of the all-new design foldable iPad. There may be no new iPad releases in the next 9-12 months as the iPad mini refresh is more likely to begin mass production in 1Q24.— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) January 30, 2023
The analyst said that the foldable iPad will include a carbon fibre kickstand manufactured by Anjie. Kuo added that because Apple is supposed to start mass production on an upcoming rendition of the iPad Mini in early 2024, that means this foldable iPad won’t make its debut until much later next year.
Other than the supposed vague release date and info on a kickstand, there’s not much else to go on based on Kuo’s latest analysis. Fellow tech analyst Ross Young and Bloomberg columnist Mark Gurman mentioned in February last year that Apple might be diving into the foldables market with a hybrid iPad/MacBook with a 20 inch screen. That supposed device would act as a kind of clamshell when in put on the table like a laptop, with a keyboard displaying on the bottom portion, Bloomberg reported. For context, we’ve already seen similar form factors in the Windows space.
But this tracks with previous reports on the Cupertino tech giant’s plans for its premiere tablet series. Last week, reports from Bloomberg noted that next year, iPad Pros could receive OLED displays. Earlier this month, Kuo also said new iPads and/or MacBooks could be getting an OLED display late into next year.
Apple is also reportedly diving into foldable phones, as Kuo wrote last May that the company was testing an E Ink display foldable phone that could come out in 2025. Although, similar rumours have been circulating year after year since 2016. Kuo had previously predicted a foldable release for 2023, but so far Apple has kept mum about any such device if it were in the works.
It’s still disappointing to know some of Apple’s most hyped devices are still years away. We likely won’t see hide nor hair of its anticipated mixed reality headset until late in 2023, if at all. The Cupertino company is still licking its wounds from over $US1 ($1.42) trillion lost market value at the end of last year. Apple also laid off around 100 contract workers in the midst of 2022, though the company cut much, much fewer workers than other tech companies, especially the likes of Google and Microsoft.