Together with the iPhone 18 Fold anticipated to launch in late 2026, Apple is engaged on a larger-screened foldable machine that may very well be a MacBook-iPad hybrid of some kind. In keeping with one analyst, each units was set to enter mass manufacturing in the direction of the tip of subsequent yr, however a brand new report now suggests the bigger mannequin is additional away than initially thought.
In a analysis word reflecting on Apple’s latest third-quarter earnings, funding agency GF Securities’ lead analyst Jeff Pu mentioned he expects “restricted innovation” from Apple in its upcoming iPhone 17 lineup. As an alternative, Pu reserves his pleasure for the iPhone 18 Fold, for which he has seen “intact progress” within the provide chain pointing to a launch within the second half of 2026.
“Alternatively,” writes Pu, “the 18.8-inch foldable machine is prone to be postponed.” The analyst supplied no purpose for the anticipated delay, however the report suggests the machine will not enter mass manufacturing within the fourth quarter of 2026 for a probable 2027 launch, as previously indicated.
Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman believes that Apple is engaged on a foldable iPad with a 20-inch show that can come out in 2028, whereas analyst Ross Younger has mentioned that he expects a foldable tablet-like machine in 2026 or 2027, so it is protected to say there’s uncertainty a couple of launch date. There additionally look like conflicting reviews about what sort of machine the bigger foldable shall be.
Pu believes the foldable machine that Apple is engaged on shall be a MacBook-iPad hybrid with a touch-based screen and support for macOS. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has additionally referred to Apple’s bigger foldable machine as a MacBook, whereas Ross Younger has additionally written about Apple’s work on a notebook with an 18.8-inch show. The Wall Avenue Journal mentioned in December that Apple is engaged on a 19-inch MacBook with a foldable screen.
Nevertheless, Gurman has referred to Apple’s large-screened foldable machine as an iPad, as has analysis agency Omdia. Whether or not the large-screened foldable is finally an iPad or a Mac will come all the way down to the working system that Apple is planning to make use of. If the machine runs macOS, it will be within the Mac household, and if it runs iPadOS, it will be within the iPad household. Gurman has claimed that among the design updates that Apple has made in iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe to unify the working techniques will pave the best way for foldable units and touchscreen Macs, so a hybrid can also be a risk.
All in all, the small print of Apple’s bigger foldable machine stay murky. That is in distinction to rumors about Apple’s smaller book-style foldable iPhone, which have not too long ago been converging on a 2026 release.