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Apple confirmed the rumored Liquid Glass design for iOS 26 and all its different working programs final week. It’s a big makeover that not everybody will like. However it’s a change Apple wants in anticipation of a sequence of merchandise which can be rumored to reach within the coming years.
The foldable iPhone, foldable iPad, and the first AI/AR smart glasses will profit from the unified design language. The translucent UI is very helpful for the glasses, as some fashions will overlay digital components over the actual world.
Apple wants customers to be aware of Liquid Glass nicely earlier than these merchandise ship. By releasing the brand new design upfront, Apple can deal with any points and tweak the expertise based mostly on person suggestions.
Most rumors mentioning Apple’s purported plans for foldable gadgets stated that the foldable iPhone will hit shops first, as early as September 2026, when the iPhone 18 sequence must be unveiled. The foldable iPad would comply with a yr later.
However the two foldable merchandise is perhaps launched across the similar time, if a brand new analysis notice from analyst Jeff Pu is to be believed.
X person @Jukanlosreve shared the next desk from a current Jeff Pu analysis notice shared with traders. The desk mentions among the specs for each foldable merchandise that Apple is creating and lists manufacturing timelines.
If Pu’s data is correct, Apple and Foxconn began work on the manufacturing facility strains that can assemble foldable gadgets in January 2025. That’s the NPI section, or New Product Introduction.
Mass manufacturing is slated for the fourth quarter of 2026 for each merchandise. This implies Apple may launch the foldable iPhone and foldable iPad concurrently, or a number of weeks/months aside.
Nevertheless, there are a number of points with that timeline. If Apple plans to introduce the foldable iPhone in September 2026, mass manufacturing has to begin a number of months earlier so Apple can begin promoting it proper after the launch occasion. In any case, current stories advised that foldable iPhones shall be launched in September fairly than a special interval.
The interval is smart for the foldable iPad. Earlier rumors stated the product shall be launched in 2027 on the earliest. A 4Q26 manufacturing window would match that timeline.
How massive will the foldable iPhone and iPad be?
The desk above additionally lists a number of acquainted specs for the 2 merchandise. The foldable iPhone will supposedly function a 7.74-inch foldable show and a canopy display screen that measures both 5.49 inches or 6.55 inches. The previous display screen measurement appeared in different stories detailing the purported foldable iPhone.
I defined earlier than that Apple goes for a special kind issue than what’s accessible from foldable telephone distributors proper now. The foldable iPhone would have a different aspect ratio than Fold-type gadgets. Unfolded, the foldable iPhone could be nearly as massive as an iPad mini. When folded, it is going to be shorter than the Galaxy Z Fold telephones.
The foldable iPad ought to function an 18.8-inch foldable show. Different stories talked about the identical display screen measurement for the foldable pc.
Jeff Pu additionally says that Samsung and LG Show shall be tasked with making foldable screens for the 2 gadgets. The display screen will function on-cell contact, which ought to scale back the display screen thickness. The hinge will come from SZS and Amphenol.
Lastly, Pu says Apple will make 16-18 million foldable iPhones within the first yr, and 2-3 million foldable iPads.
