San Francisco, Nov 4 (IANS): South Korean giant Samsung has predicted that its arch rival Apple is set to launch a foldable tablet by 2024.

Samsung's Mobile Experience team recently met the suppliers and "is feeling optimistic about the foldable market," reports AppleInsider.

According to them, Apple is likely to unveil its first foldable gadget by 2024 but it will not be an iPhone. "Even though there is a lot of demand for an iPhone Fold, the technology might not be ready yet," the report said.

The bulky design of current folding phones does not align with Apple's design philosophy.

Earlier, industry analyst firm CCS Insight had forecast that the technology giant would begin experimenting with foldable technology soon.

Apple is yet to enter the lucrative foldable market which is led by Samsung.

"Right now it does not make sense for Apple to make a foldable iPhone. We think they would shun that trend and probably dip a toe in the water with a foldable iPad," said Ben Word, chief of research at the firm.

"A folding iPhone would be super high risk for Apple. Firstly, it would have to be incredibly expensive in order to not cannibalise the existing iPhones," he added.

The company was exploring foldable technology for displays of around 20-inches in size.