Supply chain sources have told DigiTimes that Apple is working with suppliers to develop a foldable iPad with “small-scale production” that could begin “as early as the end of 2024.”
Hartley Charlton for MacRumors:
Apple has apparently been working on foldable products for four years and continuously made design changes in this time, planning to release a foldable iPad before working on a foldable iPhone. Apple chose to focus on the iPad because it makes up a comparatively small proportion of the company’s sales, meaning that potential issues are easier to manage and less impactful.
The company has reportedly not yet finalized the design of the foldable iPad. Initially, Apple’s product design team led the project but this role is now said to have shifted to the procurement department to bring down costs. Apple’s main objective at this stage is to achieve a more cost-effective design, motivating contentious changes to the device…
Apple is seemingly able to obtain sufficient supply of the device’s hinge, but is still seeking a design that is more cost-effective and easy to mass produce, which could require further simplification and reduction in the number of parts.
MacDailyNews Take: You know what would make for a good hinge? Liquidmetal.
Foldable displays make far more sense for tablets than for smartphones. – MacDailyNews, January 30, 2023
“Too thick when folded” is why it makes perfect sense for Apple to do a foldable display first with iPad, a device that is not carried in pockets and where thickness when folded is therefore not an issue. – MacDailyNews, February 17, 2020
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Really, why? That is bound to be a fail.
It’s almost the same as a type of computer Apple has made previously: a laptop.
Maybe it’s so they don’t appear to be ‘falling behind’ in comparison with Samsung, LG and others already releasing foldable continuous display devices.
In the end this may all be just a distraction for Apple if the Spatial computing model becomes a better fit for the future of computing.
It’s a form factor that Apple Computer Inc. has actually made previously: a laptop.
As an investor in Apple, this is actually starting to get scary; first a supposedly environmentally friendly substitute for leather (which is not environmentally unfriendly), that fails within first week of use; then, a new Apple Pencil that is a degradation of the ones its already making, with no logical place amongst the iPad array; and now an iPad “laptop”!
It seems as though Apple has lost its direction, and is just throwing stuff at the public to see if there is something they will buy. Where is the visionary who can see through the foggy future?
And, regarding the one computer that was the most iconic desktop they ever produced – the large iMac, has been just sitting in limbo for what, nearly half a decade? Does Apple ever actually consider the most fundamental base of their users, who have been with Apple from the beginning and actually built their businesses around their operating system, and NEED that basic large desktop to run their businesses?
I wouldn’t start worrying based on THOSE examples, but there is reason for concern as an investor. It looks like Apple will be milking there legacy products for a few years too long before the competition surpasses them in hardware. The iOS software/ecosystem is the buffer that will keep most people locked in but I’d rather see some more innovation with iPhone.
A folding tablet is precisely the kind of play it safe, don’t rock the boat, keep throttling the golden goose approach that gets you left behind. The whole point of a folding device is to have something that fits in your pocket that then becomes a small tablet. If you’re going to put this thing or an 11″-12.9″ iPad in you bag, what’s the value-add?
One Plus and Oppo have created AMAZING hardware for folding phones. Samsung is on gen 5 of their Fold and Google’s debut in the category is impressive. Call me cynical but it looks like Apple just wants to keep nudging customers harder and harder to buy 3,4,5 computing devices instead of just 2-3 that serve all needs.
Apple’s ideal customer ca. 2024 buys: iPhone, iPad Pro, Apple Watch, MacBook Pro, Apple Vision Pro, Mac Mini +10 halo products.
Other than reliably sourcing larger flexible display panels, Apple’s first commercial attempt at a foldable continuous display device being an iPad will be good practice. When they come around to do the iPhone Apple will have to find more refined solutions for keeping the visible crease to a minimum over the phone’s lifetime. The hinge mechanism will probably be the most difficult as they’ll have to work to avoid infringing on patents by Samsung, LG and Motorola.
Aah Liquid Metal haven’t heard that mentioned for years.