Many smartphone makers have arrived with their foldable phones leaving Apple as the only major brand without a foldable phone. However, it seems like things might change as the latest report suggests a foldable Apple device is in the works that will eventually replace the iPad mini.
The Elec reports both LG and Samsung Display sent out foldable display samples to Apple last year of a mysterious device. Cut to now, we are learning that the mysterious device is anywhere between late 7 to early 8-inch. Since the 8.3” iPad mini was last refreshed in 2021, there’s a heavy inclination that the iPad mini could be the one to take the hit giving way to a foldable phone.
This would be Apple’s foray into the foldable device market. Note that we are hoping for something that has power hardware supplied with iOS for foldable devices and we have an updated launch timeline as well somewhere between 2026 and 2027. Yes, we are still two years away from getting our hands on a foldable device from Apple which means there are a lot of things that could be changed till then.
iPad mini (2021) sports an 8.3” IPS LCD panel, however, the upcoming replaceable (or maybe an updated iPad mini with a foldable display) is likely to arrive with an OLED panel under the hood.
Apple’s biggest display suppliers – Samsung Display and LG Display, reportedly shipped display samples last year for evaluation purposes. Although progress could be happening behind the curtains, we are quite literally excited that a foldable device is truly in the making even though it’s at least two years of wait.
Talking about OLEDs, having a foldable OLED panel would make the upcoming device expensive given both OLED technology and foldable displays are pricey as of now. Alternatively, reports suggest we could see an iPhone with a foldable panel as well which is not off the rumor mills.
In any case, the current timeline suggests an upcoming Apple foldable device is nothing short of release in 2026 or 2027.
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