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Apple's 18.8-Inch Foldable Device Could Miss 2026 Production Target

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Along with the iPhone 18 Fold expected to launch in late 2026, Apple is working on a larger-screened foldable device that could be a MacBook-iPad hybrid of some sort. According to one analyst, both devices were set to enter mass production towards the end of next year, but a new report now suggests the larger model is further away than originally thought.

iPhone-Fold-Vertical-Feature.jpg

In a research note reflecting on Apple's recent third-quarter earnings, investment firm GF Securities' lead analyst Jeff Pu said he expects "limited innovation" from Apple in its upcoming iPhone 17 lineup. Instead, Pu reserves his excitement for the iPhone 18 Fold, for which he has seen "intact progress" in the supply chain pointing to a release in the second half of 2026.

"On the other hand," writes Pu, "the 18.8-inch foldable device is likely to be postponed." The analyst offered no reason for the expected delay, but the report suggests the device will no longer enter mass production in the fourth quarter of 2026 for a likely 2027 release, as previously indicated.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believes that Apple is working on a foldable ‌iPad‌ with a 20-inch display that will come out in 2028, while analyst Ross Young has said that he expects a foldable tablet-like device in 2026 or 2027, so it's safe to say there's uncertainty about a launch date. There also appear to be conflicting reports about what kind of device the larger foldable will be.

Pu believes the foldable device that Apple is working on will be a MacBook-iPad hybrid with a touch-based screen and support for macOS. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also referred to Apple's larger foldable device as a MacBook, while Ross Young has also written about Apple's work on a notebook with an 18.8-inch display. The Wall Street Journal said in December that Apple is working on a 19-inch MacBook with a foldable screen.

However, Gurman has referred to Apple's large-screened foldable device as an ‌iPad‌, as has research firm Omdia. Whether the large-screened foldable is ultimately an ‌iPad‌ or a Mac will come down to the operating system that Apple is planning to use. If the device runs macOS, it'll be in the Mac family, and if it runs iPadOS, it'll be in the ‌iPad‌ family. Gurman has claimed that some of the design updates that Apple has made in iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe to unify the operating systems will pave the way for foldable devices and touchscreen Macs, so a hybrid is also a possibility.
All in all, the details of Apple's larger foldable device remain murky. That's in contrast to rumors about Apple's smaller book-style foldable iPhone, which have recently been converging on a 2026 release.

Article Link: Apple's 18.8-Inch Foldable Device Could Miss 2026 Production Target
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/08/04/apple-larger-foldable-miss-2026-production/
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  • Haha
Reactions: SFjohn and antiprotest
no way Apple will release 2 foldable devices on the same year....they need the attention long enough
 
kiranmk2 said:
So there is a plan to launch a device with iPadOS and MacOS support...
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i hope for the ios and ipados/macos suppot in the next foldable phone .. that will be a far better hit and more income for apple than an foldable tablet ipados and macos
 
I wonder if this device serves any purpose, addresses any specific need, or solves any problem. It seems to me that it does nothing at all, its only goal being a silly attempt to show that they're actively competing in the foldable screen race. Pointless? Sure, but shareholders might feel reassured for a moment.
 
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Wieslawo said:
I wonder if this device serves any purpose, addresses any specific need, or solves any problem. It seems to me that it does nothing at all, its only goal being a silly attempt to show that they're actively competing in the foldable screen race. Pointless? Sure, but shareholders might feel reassured for a moment.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking the same thing.All all glass Mac would make for a terrible typing experience; and MacOS isn't designed to be a touch OS. How many uses who want a bigger Mac screen would also want to carry around a keyboard and mouse?

As for a bigger iPad, at what point does it become unwieldy to hold? They could put the keyboard below the fold, but how many people regularly use a keyboard with their iPad? Will those that do like a virtual keyboard with little or no tactile feedback?

This seems more like an R&D effort than a real product.
 
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I’m wheezing at this point.
A company with unlimited cash on their hand postpones a device that is almost 2 years away. Incompetent beyond belief.
All they can do is re-release same phones, tablets and computers all over again with new CPUs.

So done with this company.
 
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I remain unconvinced that Apple would ever release a MacBook without a regular keyboard. A foldable screen where half of it is only ever used as a keyboard would be an expensive change with a much worse typing experience. I’m happy for them to take as much time as they need to get this right rather than rushing to be first to market with a pointless gimmick
 
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Wieslawo said:
I wonder if this device serves any purpose, addresses any specific need, or solves any problem. It seems to me that it does nothing at all, its only goal being a silly attempt to show that they're actively competing in the foldable screen race. Pointless? Sure, but shareholders might feel reassured for a moment.
Click to expand...
Tim Spindler’s hubris is based on inertia-driven positive quarters that belie their utter lack of vision and innovation - let us always remember that Apple was also doing great for a while in the early 90s under Sculley - until it didn’t anymore.
 
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A common theme to be sure. Apple is no longer the agile little scrapper of an underdog. They seem more willing to let others take the lead and the roll out a similar device.

This isn't 2001 and apple rolling out a MP3 device that dominated the market. Others are not resting on their laurels, and Apple shouldn't either.

Doesn't matter if we're talking AI, iPhones, or Macs.
 
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jlc1978 said:
I'm thinking the same thing.All all glass Mac would make for a terrible typing experience; and MacOS isn't designed to be a touch OS. How many uses who want a bigger Mac screen would also want to carry around a keyboard and mouse?

As for a bigger iPad, at what point does it become unwieldy to hold? They could put the keyboard below the fold, but how many people regularly use a keyboard with their iPad? Will those that do like a virtual keyboard with little or no tactile feedback?

This seems more like an R&D effort than a real product.
Click to expand...
Exactly. Summed up wonderfully.
 
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