Launch not until 2029? Apple is having problems with its giant foldable iPad
Apple has been working for years to bring an iPad with a gigantic foldable display to market. Due to technical challenges, the availability of the folding iPad is becoming increasingly distant, according to a new media report.
Apple’s prototypes are still too heavy
Apple’s efforts to reinvent the iPad in foldable form are currently facing a number of difficult hurdles. Apple is said to be having trouble overcoming some challenges around the desired weight, features and probably also the display technology to be used, which has thrown the launch schedule into doubt.
According to a report from the US Economic Intelligence Service Bloomberg which comes from Apple specialist Mark Gurman with good contacts in the company, they actually want to develop an approximately 18-inch OLED panel for the foldable iPad in cooperation with long-time partner Samsung. Apple supposedly wants to ensure under all circumstances that the place where the panel is folded is as imperceptible as possible.
Folding iPad looks like a MacBook when folded
According to the report, Apple currently has prototypes of the foldable iPad developed internally under the name “J312”, which are said to be externally reminiscent of a MacBook when folded. If you open the device, the large OLED panel is revealed, with the folding iPad being approximately the size of a 13-inch laptop. Unlike the currently available iPad Pro models with a maximum weight of almost 700 grams with a display diagonal of almost 13 inches, the prototypes should weigh around 1.6 kilograms.
The Apple developers therefore have serious concerns that the weight of the device could be too high to ensure the attractiveness of the folding iPad in the premium segment. In addition to the high weight of the current prototypes, Apple and Samsung are also said to be having problems achieving the “wrinkle-free” design. Overall, there are reportedly some doubts among sources familiar with the project as to whether the foldable iPad will ever come onto the market.
If anything, it is likely that the introduction will be postponed to 2029, as Apple recently assumed internally that it would be able to market the device commercially from 2028, it is said. Meanwhile, similar, lighter products already exist. Apple’s competitor Huawei is already selling the so-called MateBook Fold, at least in China, which has an 18-inch OLED display and weighs around 500 grams less than Apple’s current prototype.
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