Apple wasn't reluctant—it was strategic
Apple, long a deliberate latecomer to markets it eventually reshapes, is preparing to enter the foldable device era — not through the iPhone, as many anticipated, but through the iPad. By choosing the tablet as its proving ground, the company seeks to refine an emerging technology without endangering the revenue crown jewel that the standard iPhone represents. It is a move that speaks less to hesitation than to the kind of patient strategy that has defined Apple's most consequential product decisions.
- Apple faces a genuine dilemma: foldable phones are gaining cultural momentum, yet launching one risks cannibalizing the iPhone — its most profitable product.
- The solution is a strategic detour — a nearly 20-inch foldable iPad priced between $2,300 and $2,500, designed to absorb the engineering risk before the iPhone is ever exposed to it.
- Behind the scenes, Apple and LG Display are already developing ultra-thin cover glass, signaling that this is no longer speculation but active groundwork.
- A foldable iPhone is expected to follow in 2024–2025 at around $2,000, potentially featuring an e-ink external screen — but only if the iPad proves the technology worthy.
- The trajectory is clear: Apple is not absent from the foldable race, it is simply running it on its own carefully sequenced terms.
Apple has spent years watching Samsung and others fold their devices, not out of reluctance, but out of calculation. According to CCS Insight's annual forecast, the company's long-awaited entry into foldables will arrive by 2024 — and it will come in the form of an iPad, not an iPhone.
The reasoning is rooted in financial caution. The standard iPhone is too valuable to risk disrupting with a premium folding alternative that might pull buyers away from the core model. A foldable iPad sidesteps that danger entirely, giving Apple a platform to stress-test the technology, iron out engineering challenges, and cultivate consumer appetite for the category without threatening its most important revenue stream.
The device itself will be a significant statement: a display that unfolds to nearly 20 inches, a price tag estimated between $2,300 and $2,500, and a possible secondary e-ink screen on the exterior to conserve battery when closed. Apple is reportedly working with LG Display on ultra-thin cover glass to make the form factor viable.
A foldable iPhone is expected to follow, likely priced around $2,000, with an 8-to-9-inch main display and a similar e-ink exterior panel for quick interactions. As with most Apple product categories, the company arrives not first, but with a finish and ecosystem integration that tends to reframe what consumers expect. Whether buyers will wait — and whether the iPad launch will earn enough trust to carry the iPhone version forward — remains the open question.
Apple has spent years watching competitors fold their phones and tablets, waiting for the right moment to enter a market it didn't invent. That moment, according to industry analysts, is coming—but not in the way most people expected. The company will introduce a foldable device by 2024, but it won't be the iPhone that fans have been anticipating. It will be an iPad.
The logic is straightforward, if cautious. A foldable iPhone carries real risk for Apple's bottom line. The regular iPhone remains one of the company's most profitable products, and launching a premium folding version could cannibalize sales of the standard model—a scenario Apple wants to avoid at all costs. By starting with a tablet instead, Apple can test the technology, work out the engineering problems, and build consumer interest in the foldable category without threatening the iPhone's market dominance. It's a deliberate, measured approach that reflects how Apple typically enters new product categories: carefully, with a clear exit strategy if things go wrong.
Marketing research firm CCS Insight included this prediction in its annual report, and the logic has resonated with tech analysts who have long wondered why Apple seemed so reluctant to jump into foldables when Samsung and others had already proven the concept worked. The answer, it turns out, is that Apple wasn't reluctant—it was strategic. The company is reportedly in discussions with LG Display to develop ultra-thin cover glass for its foldable devices, suggesting the groundwork is already underway.
The foldable iPad will be a statement piece. Industry estimates put the base model at somewhere between $2,300 and $2,500, making it one of the most expensive tablets ever released. The display will stretch nearly 20 inches when unfolded, creating a device that sits somewhere between a tablet and a laptop in terms of usability. Apple is also considering adding a secondary display on the outside using color e-ink technology, which would help preserve battery life when the device is folded closed.
A foldable iPhone would follow, likely in 2024 or shortly after, with a projected starting price around $2,000. That device would feature a main display of 8 or 9 inches, smaller than the iPad but still substantial. It too would likely include an external e-ink screen for notifications and quick interactions without opening the device fully.
Apple's track record suggests that whenever it does enter a market, it brings engineering refinement that competitors may have overlooked. The company is rarely first, but it often arrives with a version that feels more polished, more intentional, and more integrated into its ecosystem than what came before. A foldable iPad and iPhone will be no exception—expensive, unusual, and distinctly Apple. The question now is whether consumers will wait, and whether the iPad launch will prove the technology reliable enough to justify the iPhone version that follows.
Citações Notáveis
A folding iPhone would be risky for Apple as it may downgrade the sales of the conventional iPhone, one of Apple's most profitable devices.— CCS Insight analysis
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why would Apple risk launching a foldable iPad at $2,300 when most people don't even know they want one?
Because it's not really a risk—it's a test. Apple gets to see how the technology holds up in real hands, what breaks, what users actually do with a folding screen. All without jeopardizing the iPhone.
But couldn't they just launch both at once, like Samsung does?
They could, but that's not how Apple thinks. Samsung needs to prove it's innovative across categories. Apple only cares about protecting what's working. The iPhone makes too much money to gamble with.
So the iPad is basically a beta test for rich people?
Essentially, yes. And Apple gets to charge them for the privilege of helping refine the technology. It's elegant, really.
What happens if the foldable iPad flops?
Then Apple quietly moves on and waits another few years. The iPhone launch gets delayed further. But if it succeeds, they've built demand and proven the engineering works.
And the $2,000 foldable iPhone becomes inevitable?
Not inevitable, but much more likely. By then, the technology will feel mature, the supply chain will be ready, and consumers will already be thinking about folding screens as normal.