Apple is working on a very different version of iPad, and it might be coming in 2024.
This is according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who claims that the "all-new design foldable iPad" is coming sometime next year.
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"I'm positive about the foldable iPad in 2024 and expect this new model will boost shipments and improve the product mix," wrote Kuo on Monday. (opens in a new tab)
Kuo also claims this new iPad will come with a carbon fiber kickstand, which should make it lighter and more durable.
According to Kuo, all of this means there might be no new iPad releases in the next nine to 12 months. The first new Apple tablet we'll see will probably be the iPad mini, which should go into mass production in the first quarter of 2024.
Given Kuo's predictions of an iPad drought for the bigger part of 2023, it's worth revisiting some recent rumors about Apple's upcoming tablets. In Dec. 2022, Kuo said that shipments of the new iPad mini might start in late 2023 or in the first half of 2024; now he seems more certain that it won't happen this year. Also, in Oct. 2022, The Information said that Apple is working on a massive, 16-inch new iPad, which might arrive in 2023. Analyst Ross Young said in Dec. 2022 that Apple is working on slightly larger iPad Pro models with OLED displays, likely to be launched in the first quarter of 2024. Finally, earlier this month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple is working on an iPad-like device that will let users control various smart home functions.
A foldable iPad, if it's real, will definitely be the most interesting Apple tablet in a while. Not only would it be Apple's first foldable device of any kind, but it'll also steer the iPad into an entirely new direction, perhaps making it a better competitor to the company's own MacBook line of computers. We've heard rumors about it before, though, and they so far haven't materialized.
