Is a foldable iPad coming?
The talk surrounding a foldable iPhone has been running for some time now as the competition continues to try to make the idea into something vaguely useable in spite of the obvious constraints.
Just like styluses on phones I continue to ponder how a folding phone can offer enough benefits to make the investment worthwhile and how the extra time they take to use can be beaten by real world advantages.
However, the iPad is a different beast and it dawned on me that a folding iPad could be a killer device. Apple would have more space to work in and the folded form, especially on an iPad mini, would actually be portable enough to carry around when you are out and about. I also looked at my iPad Pro and folding it in half, vertically, is far from absurd.
Apple has already made moves to make the iPad a mini Mac with attachable keyboards etc and some do actually use it as their main computer. The majority do not, however, but if there was an opportunity to carry it around that may change how people use it. And this is also where the Apple Pencil, or more ideally a smaller stylus, could come into play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmIgNfp-MdI&feature=emb_logo
Just look at the Microsoft "Courier" concept, which was sadly killed off, and you can see the potential. It is completely obvious to me that there is still a space for a small device that can be carried around and which can also afford you are larger screen and even a screen-based keyboard to input words.
If I had to make a bet I would not be surprised to see a folding iPad tablet appear in 2021 with some tweaks to iPadOS that makes the advantages obvious to the majority. And I would be shocked to see a foldable iPhone arrive anytime soon. That still makes little sense to me and would feel like design for the sake of design which is something Apple rarely does.