Apple is reported to have given up on plans for a foldable screen product called "iPad Ultra" because sales of high-end iPad Pro models have continued to be poor over the past few years, making it difficult to support investment in higher-priced, more niche new models. This news first came from the Weibo whistleblower "Snapa Digital".
In response to a netizen's question about whether the iPad will join Apple's "Ultra" product lineup, he said that although Apple is internally promoting products such as Apple Watch Ultra, M series Ultra chips, the rumored iPhone Ultra, and MacBook Ultra with OLED display, there are currently "no plans" to launch Ultra models in the iPad series, and attributed this to the weak market performance of the existing iPad Pro.
Public information shows that pressure on iPad Pro sales is not new. As early as October 2024, there were reports that shipment estimates for the iPad Pro equipped with M4 chips had been significantly lowered due to lower-than-expected post-launch demand. Ross Young, an analyst at display supply chain consulting firm DSCC, revised down his 2024 full-year shipment forecast from a maximum of 10 million units to about 6.7 million units at the time. Shipments of 13-inch models in the third and fourth quarters of that year are expected to decline by more than 50% and 90% respectively. He pointed out that high selling prices are one of the main obstacles: the 11-inch starts at US$999 and the 13-inch starts at US$1,299, which makes many users still regard tablets as a "second device" besides mobile phones or notebooks, and are more sensitive to high prices. Data show that iPad business revenue has declined for three consecutive years, accounting for only about 6.73% of Apple's total revenue in fiscal year 2025.
Meanwhile, internal projects for a foldable iPad are still progressing, but the future is becoming increasingly unclear. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman mentioned in the latest issue of the "Power On" newsletter that Apple is indeed developing a 20-inch folding screen iPad, saying that this is one of the key projects of John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering and future Apple CEO. However, multiple insiders involved in the project said that the device "will probably end up being just a weird experimental project" and may not actually be commercially available.
The foldable iPad's development history stretches back years and has been plagued by delays and technical difficulties. Reports in October 2025 showed that due to ongoing engineering challenges such as weight control, feature trade-offs, and display technology, Apple has once again postponed the product’s internal target launch time from the original 2028 to 2029 or even later. The device is said to use a large-size OLED folding panel supplied by Samsung, and one of the development focuses is to minimize the visibility of the crease, similar to the rumored folding screen iPhone.
The weight of early prototypes is particularly problematic at this stage. People familiar with the matter said the prototype device weighs about 3.5 pounds (about 1.59 kilograms), which is not only heavier than the 14-inch MacBook Pro, but also almost three times the 13-inch iPad Pro. In terms of pricing, there are internal discussions that the price limit may be as high as $3,900, which is about three times the current starting price of $1,299 for the 13-inch iPad Pro, further exacerbating the uncertainty of its market positioning.
Apple has yet to form a unified opinion on product classification. Gurman noted in March that such a "large foldable iPad" would break the clear boundary Apple has long drawn between Macs and iPads. Some team members tend to regard it as a folding iPad, while others prefer to classify it as a "full-screen MacBook." According to reports, the device looks closer to a traditional laptop when closed, with an aluminum body and no external screen. The overall design is similar to Huawei's 18-inch MateBook Fold folding tablet, which is currently selling for about $3,400.
While canceling the "iPad Ultra" plan, Apple is trying to further expand the "Ultra" brand to the top of multiple product lines. According to current rumors, Apple has at least three new Ultra products in preparation this year: a foldable iPhone Ultra priced at about US$2,000, AirPods Ultra with a built-in camera and support for the "Visual Intelligence" function, and a MacBook Ultra with a touch OLED display that is priced up to 20% higher than the existing MacBook Pro. Another source confirmed that Apple has internally used the names iPhone Ultra and MacBook Ultra to refer to related projects. Currently, the "Ultra" naming has appeared on products and services such as Apple Watch Ultra, M-series Ultra chips, and CarPlay Ultra.
From the perspective of product line layout logic, iPad Ultra was originally regarded as a "natural link" in the high-end and forward-looking hardware combination of each product line, but actual market demand poured cold water on this idea. In the context of the iPad Pro having difficulty finding enough buyers at its current price, the more expensive and niche folding iPad Ultra seems to be increasingly unconvincing in order to gain sufficient demand, which also makes Apple’s attitude of “no plans to launch iPad Ultra” logical.