A folding iPad would be too expensive to replace iPad Mini, according to Apple analyst

An iPad Mini 7 with updated internals is expected by early 2024, however

(Credit: Apple)

Rumors of a folding replacement to the iPad Mini don’t hold water, according to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who speculates it would be too expensive to feasibly take over the spot of the iPad Mini 7 in the lineup.

郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) @mingchikuo

(2/3) I think it's unlikely Apple will replace the iPad mini with a foldable iPad in 2025, which may be contrary to what some media previously predicted. It's because a foldable iPad will have a markedly higher price than an iPad mini, so such a replacement is not reasonable.

Several rumors this year suggested a new folding iPad would replace next iPad Mini, but Kuo says instead that Apple is working on an incremental update to its popular 8.3-inch tablet, the primary draw of which will be a new processor, due to ship sometime in late 2023 or early 2024. 

It sounds like Kuo expects the new iPad Mini 7 will otherwise be unchanged from the iPad Mini 6, which shouldn’t surprise, given the tiny tablet just saw a major redesign with the current model, which released in late 2021. It brought with it USB-C, as well as the new flat-sized design language which marks nearly all of Apple’s currently-produced tablets and phones (the company still sells the 9th generation 10.2-inch iPad, which retains the old design language).

The new iPad Mini, if it comes in 2023, could be joined by a massive new 16-inch iPad, which rumors suggested in October could be in the offing. Aimed at professionals, that tablet would be the biggest Apple has ever created, and one of the largest tablets on the market, period. Big or small, either tablet could likely hold a place within our best iPad list.