Foldable iPad With Carbon-Fibre Kickstand Coming in 2024, iPad Shipments May Decline This Year: Ming-Chi Kuo

Apple could launch an iPad model equipped with a foldable display for the first time in 2024, according to a noted market analyst. The Cupertino company is also working on a refreshed iPad mini model that could enter mass production next year, while shipments of iPad models currently offered by Apple could see a year-over-year (YoY) decline. The analyst has also shared details of the build materials used for the purported foldable iPad model, which could feature an inbuilt kickstand.

Details of a new iPad with a foldable display were shared by TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo on Twitter. The company may not release new iPad models for the next 12 months, while a new iPad mini model could enter mass production in 2024, according to Kuo. Apple previously launched the iPad mini (2021) with an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display and the company's A15 Bionic chip in September 2021. 

Kuo predicts that iPad shipments for 2023 will decline by 10 to 15 percent, adding that a foldable iPad that will debut in 2024 will widen the company's product portfolio and give iPad shipments a fillip. 

The purported iPad with a foldable display will be equipped with carbon fibre kickstand for improved durability, according to Kuo's latest survey. Jiangsu-based Anjie Technology, a Chinese firm that supplies internal and external functional components for consumer electronics companies, will be the biggest beneficiary of a growing trend of foldable devices that will feature kickstands, according to the analyst. 

In December, Kuo claimed that it was unlikely that Apple would replace the iPad mini with a foldable iPad by 2025, stating that the company would have to sell the latter at a "markedly" higher price, making it an unreasonable replacement. The analyst had previously predicted that a new iPad mini model with a new processor would begin shipping to customers by the end of 2023 or the first half of 2024. 

Last year, market research and advisory firm CCS Insight predicted the arrival of a foldable iPad with a flexible display in 2024. In its annual 'Predictions for 2023 and Beyond' report, the firm claimed that Apple will bring a foldable iPad — expected to be in the 'super premium' price range — to the market before it attempts to introduce a foldable iPhone. It is worth noting that, Apple is yet to announce any plans to launch foldable smartphone on tablet models next year.