Apple does not seem to be in a hurry to enter the race for foldable smartphones, but the company would have another project in its pipeline: a large format tablet with a foldable screen. According to Bloomberg and its well-informed journalist Mark Gurman, this tablet would have a panel of more than 18 inches once deployed, an unprecedented size in this segment.
The question of price
With such a huge screen, this future product could well blur the lines between tablet and laptop. Even folded, it would maintain dimensions comparable to a classic iPad Pro. For the record, the iPad Pro currently exists in two formats: 11 inches and 13 inches. Apple's foldable tablet would therefore go much further.
For comparison, Samsung, which has big ambitions in the very large tablet market, offers a 14.6-inch OLED screen with its Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. If Apple manages to produce a device larger than 18 inches, it would be a record for the sector.
But why such a large tablet? The answer can be summed up in three words: work, gaming and streaming. The objective is to appeal to users looking for versatility, those who want an XXL screen for gaming, working or enjoying an immersive video experience.
If the format is a dream, several technical obstacles remain to be overcome. The main challenge concerns the central fold of the screen, a recurring problem on current foldable devices. Even after several generations, Samsung and other manufacturers have not managed to completely eliminate this famous “fold line”.
Apple, for its part, has already made significant progress. According to the sources of Bloombergcurrent prototypes have an almost invisible fold. But nothing is set in stone yet: it remains to be seen whether Apple will manage to resolve this problem on a finished product.
Another challenge concerns price. Foldable devices, especially in the laptop segment, command exorbitant prices. For example, models from HP or Asus with flexible screens start around $3,500. Apple should not offer a foldable tablet at a low price: estimates already suggest a price above 2,000 dollars.
The software also raises questions. A foldable tablet should logically run iPadOS, the iPad operating system. However, even if iPadOS can be practical, it is still far from the performance of a system like macOS. Users hoping for a hybrid between the Mac and the iPad therefore risk being disappointed (and losing their turn by not purchasing this future tablet).
Apple has been exploring the foldable format for several years. The company even reportedly considered other designs, including an outward-folding screen, before favoring an interior-folding design.
The Californian firm could first launch a foldable iPhone. According to sources from Wall Street Journalthe latter would be more advanced than the tablet and could arrive as early as 2026 or 2027. But these projects remain delicate. Even for a giant like Apple, it only takes a grain of sand to slow down the machine: we remember, for example, Microsoft's Surface Neo, a similar device that never saw the light of day.
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