Massive foldable iPad is in the works, but may never launch

Apple is reportedly working on a gigantic iPad Fold, but if it launches at all, it won't be until the end of the 2020s.

What a large folding iPad could look like - Image Credit: AppleInsider
Backing up some previous claims that Apple is planning a foldable iPad, and others that it has been delayed until 2029, Bloomberg's "Power On"newsletter adds that it might never be released.

Once again repeating previous claims, the new report says that development of the iPad Fold has hit problems. Those reportedly include design issues to do with the simple practicality of how a user might type on one.

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Massive foldable iPad is in the works, but may never launch

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William Gallagher

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Sun Mar 01 2026, 08:38 AM EST
2 minute read

What a large folding iPad could look like - Image Credit: AppleInsider

Apple is reportedly working on a gigantic iPad Fold, but if it launches at all, it won't be until the end of the 2020s.

Backing up some previous claims that Apple is planning a foldable iPad, and others that it has been delayed until 2029, Bloomberg's "Power On"newsletter adds that it might never be released.

Once again repeating previous claims, the new report says that development of the iPad Fold has hit problems. Those reportedly include design issues to do with the simple practicality of how a user might type on one.

These problems are said to have at least delayed the iPad Fold. It's suggested that they may not be surmountable, either, which would mean Apple cancelling the project.

This report doesn't specify a size — although previous ones have said it is to be 18-inches diagonally — but instead just describes it as gigantic with a Mac-sized giant screen. Currently the smallest size Mac display Apple makes is the one in the 21-inch iMac.

Whatever the precise specifications will be, the claim is that it will be enormous. So much so that it's said the iPad Fold would only remain portable because it can be folded down into a smaller size.

But despite having a Mac-sized screen, and not being especially portable when unfolded, the new report says that it will not become a Mac. It will run iPadOS, not macOS, and will not be some kind of combination iPad and Mac.

While most rumors concentrate on expectations for an iPhone Fold, and some on a foldable version of the MacBook Pro, there have consistently been reports of an iPad Fold. The most consistent part of them, though, has been that the release date keeps being pushed back.

Separately, there have also, though, be reports that Apple is looking to first make a smaller folding iPad. So rather than a gigantic one or perhaps 18-inches, there could be a foldable device that replaces the iPad mini.

If so, it might have either a 7-inch, or an 8-inch display. Although those sizes are close enough to what has been reported for the iPhone Fold that they could be a misunderstanding.

Whether it's for an iPhone Fold or an iPad Fold, though, Apple is certainly working on such devices. All the way back in 2020, Apple was granted on a patent on the hinges for a folding device screen.

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