Apple's iPad turns 16 this year, but two rumored products — the iPhone Ultra foldable and MacBook Ultra touchscreen laptop — could fundamentally alter its trajectory. When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad, he positioned it as a third essential device between phone and Mac. That logic held for over a decade, but the coming hardware shifts challenge the category's reason to exist.

The iPhone Ultra represents Apple's first foldable phone. Folded, it's a pocketable handset; unfolded, it delivers an iPad mini-sized canvas. Meanwhile, the MacBook Ultra — a redesigned MacBook Pro with touchscreen — brings direct manipulation to macOS. Neither device will dent iPad sales immediately. Both will launch as niche, premium products for early adopters.

The threat compounds over time. Foldable prices will drop and screen sizes will grow, eventually letting a single device replace both phone and tablet for many users. Simultaneously, if Apple extends touchscreens across the Mac lineup, the iPad loses its primary differentiator: touch-first computing on Apple silicon.

The iPad Pro remains a remarkable machine — this author has used one as a daily driver for over a decade. But without a bold evolution in form factor or software capability, the product line risks shrinking into a narrow creative niche. Apple's next moves will determine whether the iPad remains a pillar or becomes a footnote.