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Apple to Launch Foldable iPad in 2024, Analyst Claims

I think they should concentrate on making a very thin an ultra light touch screen that can be folded up and put in your pocket. But the brains of the screen will be your iPhone. Similar to how the Apple Watch is a second screen of your iPhone etc..

Decouple the screen tech from the actual machine.

So I can work on my phone but if I need more space then I can just unfold a screen on a nearby desk or my lap as if I was unfolding a napkin. Instantly I have an ultra light foldable iPad on my lap. It has no need for a big battery or big circuit board as its just a screen.

With so many people having an iPhone or having info in the cloud is there any need for an iPad to be anymore than just a screen??
 
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threesixty360 said:
So I can work on my phone but if I need more space then I can just unfold a screen on a nearby desk or my lap as if I was unfolding a napkin. Instantly I have an ultra light foldable iPad on my lap. It has no need for a big battery or big circuit board as its just a screen.
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Intriguing idea. The only thing is, displays tend to consume a great deal of power. I don't have any statistics or numbers on hand, but my guess is that the display of a modern tablet or computer consumes 50% or more of the total power required by the device. That's why it's difficult to unmarry screens from their parent devices, which supply them with the power they need... unless the displays have their own power source like plugging into a wall or a relatively large battery.

The other issue is the wireless protocol and equipment required to connect the display with the parent device. Again, wireless communication takes power.
 
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addamas said:
But it already folds. One time only in its lifetime but folds :D

Edit: as long as there will be this screen distortion in the folding part over the hinge I don’t see a future for it. It’s too fragile to use.
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It's not too fragile to use... not true
 
rp2011 said:
Well YouTubers will LOVE it. They seem to be the only ones who love foldable. But they do live in an echochmber where individual thought is devoid.
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I am not youtuber and I love my Fold 4... love it more than any iPhone before...
 
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I thought the allure of a foldable was supposed to be that it‘s a pocketable cellphone that folds out into a tablet when you get home. What’s this sorcery? A tablet that folds out into a picnic table when you get to the campsite? Think I’ll file this rumor under “rubbish” 👍
 
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I have the Samsung Fold 4 an can tell you all that its totally AMAZING! Don't even see the crease most of the time. Its a futuristic device which I have right now :) Stunning in every aspect. I do also keep an iPhone Mini for when I don't wanna carry the heft though!
 
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jchap said:
Intriguing idea. The only thing is, displays tend to consume a great deal of power. I don't have any statistics or numbers on hand, but my guess is that the display of a modern tablet or computer consumes 50% or more of the total power required by the device. That's why it's difficult to unmarry screens from their parent devices, which supply them with the power they need... unless the displays have their own power source like plugging into a wall or a relatively large battery.

The other issue is the wireless protocol and equipment required to connect the display with the parent device. Again, wireless communication takes power.
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Maybe the foldable sections of the screen are OLED panels which require less power? If you look at the Apple Watch and consider that that is an OLED panel with a battery and radio transmitters that’s now lasts 36hrs.

So we are talking maybe an OLED panel 4 times the size of the watch as 1 panel of the foldable screen.

36hr/4 = 9hrs of potential battery life if the battery of 1 Apple Watch could power the panel. Then make 8 of these panels in a foldable form. Should be pretty thin and light with all the radio tech and sufficient battery life to be a useful touch screen.

I kind of think looking at what they’ve been able to do with the watch makes me feel it would actually be doable.
 
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Forget the foldable iPad in 2024, Apple stop being scared and just release a foldable iPhone already. You are already losing share in this market to Samsung who are already in their 4th iterations of foldables. Look at the Z Fold 4 and Flip 4, both fantastic, futuristic devices that keep getting better and more durable with each release. The current 'Candy bar' form factor has no where left to go.
 
"We think they will shun that trend and probably dip a toe"

So they don't know anything and the news is worth nothing.
 
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For me it is about the portability. If I'm taking a tablet or a laptop, the size doesn't matter much because I'm stuffing it in a backpack. Where I need foldability is for a pocket device that I'm schlepping in my front pocket.

I definitely would like a device that works like an iphone pro max, but can convert to be the size of an iPad mini while traveling. However the implementation would have to be much better than the Samsung folds for me to be interested.
 
My feeling is they won't be doing what this analyst expects, but we'll see. Apple being Apple they'll certainly look at it very carefully - the call about a iPad sounds good from the trial run perpesctive, but is odd as it wouldn't really fit the normal iPad use case and would certainly be more expensive than a non folding one (as Samsung's examples show us). It sounds more like a "I would like them to do this..." from the analyst.
God of Biscuits said:
it’s not about the tech. It’s about the use-case. There isn’t one. At least not yet.
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I think you nailed it Biscuits, it seems to be a fragile, expensive solution in search of a problem (very Sammy).

Battery tech has a part to play in all this as well, its slowly advancing in capacity per volume, but its very slow and a thick folded square in your pocket (so you have some battery life in it) is just as annoying as a longer 1/2 thickness rectangle with much better battery life.
 
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