Foldable smartphones have existed for a few years now, and they still have not carried that affordability variable for customers. It is safe to assume that Apple may be forced to increase its pricing if it comes up with a similar product, which also means that it will not be inclined to replace its iPad mini range if a foldable version materializes. One analyst implies that this is probably the reason why Apple will continue to sell its smaller screen non-foldable tablets.
Apple predicted to launch the first foldable iPad in 2025, and it may feature a high price tag
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that a foldable iPad will launch sometime in 2025 but made no statement concerning its design, specifications or provided any details on how it would fold. He does state that the device will not replace the iPad mini as both products would have a massive price difference and can affect a consumer’s buying decision, having an adverse effect on annual sales.
There is still no concrete plan for when Apple plans to launch the first foldable iPad. Samsung earlier stated that the technology giant will enter this market in 2024, starting with an iPad, not an iPhone. Even with the foldable iPhone, a different analyst by the name of Ben Wood from CCS Insight said that if Apple proceeds with a launch, it will need to have a price of $2,500 so it does not cannibalize sales of the company’s regular-shaped iPhones.
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我認為Apple應該不會像先前有些媒體所預測，在2025年用折疊iPad取代iPad mini，這是因為折疊iPad的售價應該會顯著高於iPad mini，因此這樣的取代並不合理。其次，Apple目前正在開發新款iPad mini (主要賣點為配備新處理器)，預計在2023年底或1H24大量出貨。— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) December 27, 2022
Wood shares the same sentiment as Kuo, so it is likely that the iPad mini and foldable iPad will co-exist in this market and be sold at varying pricing brackets. Eventually, several years down the road, when foldable technology has matured enough, we might see Apple take a different path with its tablet family.
The idea of seeing a foldable iPad reduced to a pocketable form factor is very interesting and will be viewed as a versatile product. Unfortunately, its appeal will be heavily diminished if it is too expensive, so the pricing needs to reach a certain level of affordability before Apple is finally ready to throw in the towel for its traditional iPad mini series.
News Source: Ming-Chi Kuo
