Apple’s first foldable iPad might launch sooner than expected

Apple is far from announcing a foldable iPhone or iPad, but these devices have appeared in several reports in the past few weeks. The foldable iPhone is seen as the catalyst the foldable smartphone niche needs to see continued growth now that Samsung and Huawei are dealing with lower-than-expected demand. According to the display analysts at DSCC, the foldable iPhone will hit stores in 2026.

Separately, we saw a few reports over the weekend that say Apple is working on a giant foldable iPad. The device will have a nearly 20-inch screen and a crease that’s almost invisible when unfolded. The latter is reportedly one of Apple’s big goals for foldable devices. It’s a problem competitors have yet to fix, Samsung included.

Those reports followed a leaked document that showed Apple’s purported roadmap for bringing OLED panels to the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iPad mini, iPad Air, and the foldable iPad. All these stories said the foldable iPad would arrive in 2028 at the earliest.

We now have an unexpected twist in this foldable Apple tablet narrative. The same DSCC folks who think the foldable iPhone will give the foldable phone industry a big boost say that the foldable iPad Pro will actually launch in 2027, slightly earlier than expected.

DSCC calls the foldable tablet a foldable iPad Pro in the report. It’s a moniker I haven’t seen used widely, but one that makes sense.

After all, according to an earlier Bloomberg report, the foldable iPad should be about the same size as two iPad Pros sitting side-by-side. Also, the foldable iPad would probably deliver the best possible tablet/laptop experience Apple can muster, so the “Pro” moniker is warranted.

As a potential buyer, my only objection to the designator is that it cements the idea that the foldable computer would be an iPadOS device rather than a macOS tablet/laptop. While I know the chances are minimal, I’d rather Apple made a foldable MacBook Pro instead of a foldable iPad. I’d want the software to behave more like macOS but support touch input like iPadOS.

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