Amazon reportedly developing a foldable tablet that could launch as early as next year

Amazon Fire 7 tablet 2022
(Image credit: Amazon)

Huawei's new MateBook Fold laptop surprised, and it's got people around the tech world talking. Here in the United States, people are looking at Apple and its long-rumored folding iPad or MacBook.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo put in his two cents today (May 20), saying that Apple's competition "may not be limited to Huawei."

He claimed that his "research indicates" that Amazon is developing a "similar product," though he says that it hasn't officially "kicked off" yet. Kuo says that if no delays hit the project, it should go into mass production in 2026 or 2027.

In comparison, Apple's much-rumored 18.8-inch foldable tablet/note PC/monitor is supposed to go into production in 2027 or 2028.

Display analyst Ross Young hopped into the X thread saying he's known about a "foldable Amazon tablet for some time." Kuo responded, saying that Amazon has been researching it for a while.

You rarely get two leakers directly agreeing with one another about a potential future product.

We don't have any other details about what kind of device Amazon might be making beyond a tablet.

Huawei vs Apple's foldable device

a render of a foldable ipad

(Image credit: Ming-Chi Kuo / X)

Largely, Apple's rumored foldable device is supposed to be giant with an 18.8-inch display. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claimed it would look like "two iPad Pros side-by-side."

Huawei's MateBook Fold features a 13-inch screen in laptop mode. It has two virtual screens and a built-in soft keyboard.

Crazily, it's not cheap, costing 23,999 yuan (about $3,330) for the base model, which features 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Those are eye-popping numbers even for Apple products.

It could be argued that the Huawei XT Mate triple-folding phone is just the company's attempt to be first, and the price doesn't really matter.

Meanwhile, 2027 looks like the year of the foldable as Apple finally joins the fray against whatever Samsung is doing by then, and potentially Amazon will throw its hat into the ring.

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Scott Younker
West Coast Reporter

Scott Younker is the West Coast Reporter at Tom’s Guide. He covers all the lastest tech news. He’s been involved in tech since 2011 at various outlets and is on an ongoing hunt to build the easiest to use home media system. When not writing about the latest devices, you are more than welcome to discuss board games or disc golf with him. 

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