While everyone is waiting to see just how different the iPhone 17 lineup will be, an analyst with a decent track record has a prediction for next year–not one, but two folding devices from Apple.
While we’ve already heard rumors that a folding phone is nearing release, GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu reports that Apple is planning to launch a 19-inch folding iPad later next year. As spotted by 9to5Mac, Pu says the so-called iPad Fold will launch alongside the folding iPhone next year.
This is somewhat contradictory to a report earlier this week by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, in which he reported that 2027 would be the year Apple launched its first folding iPhone to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the iPhone, similar to how Apple launched the iPhone X to mark the 10th anniversary.
According to Pu, the folding phone will open to a 7.8-inch display, while the folding iPad will have a massive 18.8-inch display. That’s significantly larger than the largest tablet Apple currently offers, which tops out at 13 inches. A near-19-inch iPad would fold down to a device about the size of the iPad Pro.
That sounds similar to a rumor floated by Gurman last year, who wrote that Apple was working on “something akin to a giant iPad that unfolds into the size of two iPad Pros side-by-side.” However, he said at the time that the device wouldn’t be ready for launch until 2028.
Whichever report you choose to believe–for the record, Gurman has a better track record than Pu but both have had more accurate predictions than not–it seems as though Apple’s first folding screens are on the way. Get your wallets ready.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor, Macworld
Michael Simon has been covering Apple for more than 20 years. He started covering rumors with Spymac when the iPod was the iWalk, and has owned nearly every iPhone Apple has ever made. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, son, and far too many gadgets.