Apple is widely expected to release foldable devices in the coming years, although the company will do so at its own pace. This is what we call the “Apple Way”: Apple only releases products or product features when it thinks it can offer its own version, which it often presents as better than that already available from the competition.

Apple is often precise. This usually sets the tone in the industry, and everyone follows suit. Take foldables, for example; a report released a few days ago indicated that the foldable iPhone was the device the market needed for further growth. What Samsung and Huawei are doing is not enough to boost sales.

Two new reports claim that the foldable iPhone is indeed in the works and that Apple is also working on a foldable contraption for iPad/Mac. The latter appeared a few days ago in an alleged roadmap that teased a 2028 release window for the foldable iPad/Mac.

Bloomberg Mark Gurman shared more details about the large foldable device, detailing the screen design and explaining which operating system could power the large tablet.

Apple aims to ship foldable iPad around 2028, reporter said in latest To light up display.

Gurman learned that Apple designers are working on “something that looks like a giant iPad that folds out to the size of two iPad Pros side by side.” Apple has been working on the device for years, with one of the design goals being to eliminate the crease that current foldable products have when unfolded.

No foldable Android phone vendor has managed to eliminate the crease, although Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold SE may be the closest thing to a crease-free foldable phone. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 would inherit this design. As for Apple, older reports claimed that the fold was one of the main reasons Apple might be unhappy with current foldable screen technology.

Gurman says Apple has made progress on the front. A foldable Apple prototype features a nearly invisible crease. It’s too early to say whether Apple will be able to eliminate it completely.

The resulting device would have a screen approaching 20 inches. Gurman mentions the 18.8-inch screen size that has appeared in previous leaks, including last week’s OLED panel adoption roadmap, where the 18.8-inch foldable iPad was also listed.

Gurman also addressed the operating system Apple will choose for the device, saying it’s unclear what direction Apple will take. He speculates that Apple will still use a version of iPadOS for the device, but that the foldable iPad won’t be “a true iPad-Mac hybrid.” That said, iPadOS could then become advanced enough to run macOS apps.

I’ve been hoping for years that Apple’s first foldable iPad/Mac would also merge iPadOS and macOS or that Apple would support a dual-boot mode that would let me get the most out of each OS. Gurman’s article suggests that might not happen because Apple still wants customers to buy as many of its products as possible.

Gurman also notes that a foldable iPhone would launch no earlier than 2026, a few years before the foldable iPad. This is in line with the foldable screen report I mentioned earlier, in which DSCC experts said Apple would enter the foldable phone market in 2026.

Separately, The Wall Street Journal wrote a report stating that Apple would launch a foldable iPhone as early as 2026 to fuel growth.

The same report also mentions a larger foldable device “intended to serve as a laptop.” The device is said to feature a screen measuring around 19 inches. THE WSJ doesn’t offer a release window for the foldable iPad, but says both devices have been in development for years. Apple faced major challenges, including the hinge and the screen bezel.