The world’s largest iPhone factory, located in China and run by Foxconn, faced disruptions in 2022. That is expected to impact Apple’s December quarter results. Meanwhile, analysts have questioned Chinese consumer demand for the iPhone 14.
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Apple will slow the pace of iPad releases for the rest of 2023, with an eye on releasing a foldable iPad by 2024, the Apple analyst noted Ming-Chi Kuo wrote on Monday.
“I’m optimistic about the foldable iPad in 2024 and expect this new model to boost shipments and improve product lineup,” Kuo wrote on Twitter. Kuo’s prediction lines up with a report from analyst firm CCS Insight, which wrote in October 2022 that the Cupertino company would launch a foldable iPad before a foldable iPhone.
Several other manufacturers, including Lenovo and Samsung, make laptops or phones with full-size foldable screens. Apple has so far been reluctant to take advantage of OLED technology in the same way. Rival Samsung has released several foldable phones but Apple has stuck with the rectangular shape of the iPhone since its launch.
“Right now, it doesn’t make sense for Apple to create a foldable iPhone. We think they’ll steer clear of that trend and probably dip a toe in the water with a foldable iPad,” chief executive Ben Wood told CNBC. of research at CCS Insight. a 2022 interview.
In 2021, Kuo predicted a foldable iPhone to be released in 2024, the same year he now predicts a foldable iPad to launch instead.
Kuo expects a foldable iPad to feature a carbon fiber kickstand from a Chinese manufacturer Anjie Technology.
An Apple representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kuo is one of Apple’s most prolific and respected analysts. The analyst predicted several details about the iPhone SE 3, 2021 MacBook Pro, and many iPad versions that were vindicated at launch. More recently, Kuo predicted a delayed launch of Apple’s highly anticipated mixed reality headset.
