Like it or not, there will come a time when almost every phone brand will have a foldable phone in its catalog. That will eventually include Apple, too, if market analysts and anonymous sources are to be believed. If you’re excitedly waiting for a foldable iPhone or iPad next year, however, you might want to get less excited for the time being. While it will eventually happen, it seems that sources have started to push back that inevitable date to something beyond two years from now.
The idea of a foldable phone or tablet is arguably enticing. Having something that is actually larger than how it looks is not just convenient but is also the stuff of science fiction. Getting to that point, however, isn’t easy, and Apple isn’t one to rush into fads.
Various analysts have chimed in on when Apple is most likely to launch its first foldable device. Ming-chi Kuo, for example, put the date sometime in 2023. This device would be an 8-inch iPhone with a flexible display, but he doesn’t say which way it will fold. At the head of this article you’ll see several TCL foldable concept phones with a variety of folding options.
A launch date as soon as 2023, however, might still be a bit generous if you ask Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants. He believes that 2024 is a more likely timeframe not just for Apple’s first foldable device but also for its OLED iPads. The latter has been one of the repeatedly rumored new Apple products that have yet to surface as well.
This leaves plenty of time for the foldable display market to mature and become more reliable. At the moment, manufacturers are still struggling with creases, durability, and hinges. OPPO is boldly claiming that it has fixed at least two of those, but we’ll soon see if the Find N is really all that it’s supposed to be.
There is also still some uncertainty over which foldable design Apple would adopt. It seems that the favorite and probably the most likely option is a clamshell-type iPhone since it wouldn’t need too many changes to iOS. A foldable iPad mini would probably be more attractive, but it would also be asking too much too soon for a company best known for its meticulous attention to detail and quality.
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