Industry analyst confirms 2028 launch for Apple's 18-inch foldable iPad

Earlier this month, a leaked roadmap from Omida showed off what Apple has in store for us in the immediate future. It showed off products all the way until 2028, which is when the company plans to unveil a gargantuan 18-inch foldable. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a reliable of about Apple information, has now heard the same thing from his sources.

He describes it as one giant iPad that folds into two smaller iPads. It will be a true foldable, in the sense that there won't be any external hinges involved. Think of it as a gargantuan Galaxy Z Fold 6 with an Apple M series chip and a seemingly invisible crease. That problem continues to evade OEMs to date, but that might not be the case in 2028.

A long time ago, one leak purported Apple planned to bring macOS to iPads. While that is yet to happen (and probably won't anytime soon), the 18-incher will be a perfect device to showcase such a feature. Running iPadOS on what is essentially a laptop replacement is a borderline waste, especially for a device that will easily cost north of $2,000, even if we don't factor in inflation.

On the iPhone front, Gurman says there won't be any foldable offerings until at least 2026. Either way, when it does eventually launch, it is tipped to mimic the Galaxy Z Flip 6 with a clamshell-like form factor.