Apple’s upcoming foldable may have an unlikely test run: the iPad mini
?s first foldable phone may not arrive with a stranger preview tool than this: the iPad mini. One writer, waiting for the iPhone Duo, has
Apple’s first foldable phone may not arrive with a stranger preview tool than this: the iPad mini. One writer, waiting for the iPhone Duo, has been carrying the small tablet around as a stand-in to gauge what the larger, book-style screen might feel like in daily use.
The logic is simple. The iPad mini’s screen is close enough in size and shape to the iPhone Duo’s inner display to offer a rough taste of how the device could behave in hand. Not exact. Close enough. For now, that is the point.
A small tablet, repurposed
The experiment started alongside regular use of the iPhone 18 Pro. The iPad mini, which the writer says mostly serves as an e-book reader for library books through the Libby app, has picked up a second job: acting like a substitute phone from time to time.
That role fits the device unusually well. The writer admits the iPad mini usually feels underused, despite being capable hardware. But for readers who rely on a compact screen, or for anyone trying to imagine life with a foldable phone, the tablet suddenly has a clearer purpose.
Short, practical. That matters.
Why the comparison lands
The coming iPhone Duo is expected to bring a much larger interior display than a regular iPhone, though one report noted the screen is a bit smaller than the iPad mini’s. Even so, the gap is not dramatic enough to make the comparison pointless. The shape, more than the exact diagonal measurement, is what gives the test some value.
That makes the iPad mini useful in a way Apple probably never planned. It is not a perfect model of the foldable phone experience, and it does not pretend to be. But it can still hint at the comfort, awkwardness and novelty of living with a pocketable device that opens into something closer to a small tablet.
Apple’s wider October rush
The timing is also part of the story. Apple has already had a busy September, and reports suggest the company is preparing more launches over the next couple of months. The iPhone Duo is said to be due this October, while a next-generation iPad mini could also arrive around the end of the month, though supply constraints could push it into early 2027.
That next iPad mini, according to reports, may bring an A20 Pro chip, a landscape-oriented front camera, a new speaker system and possibly a slightly larger OLED display. It could also add Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and, for cellular models, a potential Apple C1X modem.
If that happens, Apple’s smallest tablet may end up getting a second life just as the company’s first foldable phone reaches customers. For now, though, the older iPad mini is doing an oddly timely job. As the writer put it, it has become a temporary stand-in for the experience Apple is about to sell. “Given that the screen is a similar size and shape, I’m hoping that it gives me something of a preview of the experience.”
Source: 9to5mac.com
