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History


Apple co-founder Steve Jobs said in a 1983 speech that the company's strategy was simple: "What we want to do is we want to put an incredibly great computer in a book that you can carry around with you and learn how to use in 20 minutes ... and we really want to do it with a radio link in it so you don't have to hook up to anything and you're in communication with all of these larger databases and other computers."

Apple's first tablet computer was the Newton MessagePad 100, introduced in 1993, powered by an ARM6 processor core developed by ARM, a 1990 spinout of Acorn Computers in which Apple invested. Apple also developed a prototype PowerBook Duo based tablet, the PenLite, but decided not to sell it in order to avoid hurting MessagePad sales. Apple released several more Newton-based PDAs; the final one, the MessagePad 2100, was discontinued in 1998.

Apple re-entered the mobile-computing markets in 2007 with the iPhone. Smaller than the iPad, but featuring a camera and mobile phone, it pioneered the multi-touch finger-sensitive touchscreen interface of Apple's iOS mobile operating system. By late 2009, the iPad's release had been rumored for several years. Such speculation mostly talked about "Apple's tablet"; specific names included iTablet and iSlate. The iPad was announced on January 27, 2010, by Steve Jobs at an Apple press conference at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

Jobs later said that Apple had begun developing the iPad before the iPhone. Jonathan Ive in 1991 had created an industrial design for a stylus-based tablet, the Macintosh Folio, as his first project for Apple; by 2004 his studio at the company was participating in the development of a large tablet prototype, which he later described as "very crude, involving projectors". Ive stated that after seeking to produce the tablet first, he came to agree with Jobs that the phone was more important, as the tablet's innovations would work as well in it. The iPad's internal codename was K48, which was revealed in the court case surrounding leaking of iPad information before launch.

Apple began taking pre-orders for the first-generation iPad on March 12, 2010. The only major change to the device between its announcement and being available to pre-order was the change of the behavior of the side switch to perform either sound muting or screen rotation locking (user selectable). The Wi-Fi version of the iPad went on sale in the United States on April 3, 2010. The Wi-Fi + 3G version was released on April 30. 3G service in the United States is provided by AT&T and was initially sold with two prepaid contract-free data plan options: one for unlimited data and the other for 250 MB per month at half the price. On June 2, 2010, AT&T announced that effective June 7 the unlimited plan would be replaced for new customers with a 2 GB plan at slightly lower cost; existing customers would have the option to keep the unlimited plan. The plans are activated on the iPad itself and can be cancelled at any time.

Initially, the iPad was only available to order at the Apple Store, but has since become available for purchase through retailers including Amazon, Walmart, and network operators. The iPad was launched in countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom on May 28. Online pre-orders in those countries began on May 10. Apple released the iPad in Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore on July 23, 2010. Israel briefly prohibited importation of the iPad because of concerns that its Wi-Fi might interfere with other devices. On September 17, 2010, the iPad was officially launched in China.

300,000 iPads were sold on their first day of availability. By May 3, 2010, Apple had sold a million iPads; this was in half the time it took Apple to sell the same number of first-generation iPhones. After passing the onemillion mark they continued selling rapidly reaching 3 million sales after 80 days. During the October 18, 2010, financial conference call, Steve Jobs announced that Apple had sold more iPads than Macs for the fiscal quarter. In total, Apple sold more than 15 million first-generation iPads prior to the launch of the iPad 2 –  selling more than all other tablet PCs combined since the iPad's release. and reaching 75% of tablet PC sales at the end of 2010.

Jobs unveiled the iPad 2 at a press conference on March 2, 2011. About 33% thinner than its predecessor and 15% lighter, the iPad 2 has a better processor, a dual core Apple A5 that Apple says is twice as fast as its predecessor for CPU operations and up to nine times as fast for GPU operations. The iPad 2 includes front and back cameras that support the FaceTime videophone application, as well as a three-axis gyroscope. It retained the original's 10‑hour battery life and had a similar pricing scheme.

The successor to the iPad 2 was unveiled on March 7, 2012, by Apple CEO Tim Cook at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The new iPad contained a new dual core A5X processor with quad-core graphics, and a Retina Display with a resolution of 2,048 by 1,536 pixels, more than 50 percent more pixels than a standard 1,920 by 1,080 high definition TV screen. A brief controversy erupted when it was revealed that the LTE advertised did not work in some countries.

On October 23, 2012, Apple announced the fourth generation iPad, which began shipping on November 2, 2012. The new hardware includes an A6X processor, HD FaceTime camera, improved LTE compatibility, and the all-digital Lightning connector. It is available in the same storage increments and pricing structure as the third generation. Following the announcement of the fourth-generation iPad, the previous generation was discontinued.

Alongside the launch of the fourth generation hardware, Apple announced the iPad Mini. With a screen measuring 7.9 inches, it is aimed at the emerging sector of smaller tablets such as the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7. The hardware of the new iPad Mini is similar to the iPad 2, with a 1,024 by 768 pixel resolution screen and a dual core A5 processor, but is 53% lighter and 7.2 mm thick. It was released on November 2, 2012, in 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB capacities and Wi-Fi or Wi‑Fi + Cellular versions.

On October 22, 2013, Apple introduced the fifth generation of iPad, called the iPad Air, and the second generation of iPad Mini, called iPad Mini 2 that comes with a Retina Display. The iPad Air went on sale on November 1, 2013, starting at $499, while the iPad Mini 2 was released on November 12, 2013, starting at $399.

In the first quarter of 2014, Apple reported that it had sold 25 million iPads, an all-time quarterly record, compared to 22.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

In October 2014, Apple released the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3. The iPad Air 2 is the first iOS device to feature a triple-core CPU and 2GB of RAM. As well as being thinner and faster than its predecessor, the iPad Air, it features Touch ID and is available with a gold color option. The iPad Mini 3 is similar to the iPad Mini 2 in design and hardware, but also includes Touch ID and available in gold color.

In September 2015, the iPad Pro was announced, which included a 12.9-inch screen, and a 9.7-inch version was announced in March 2016, with the addition of 256 GB option for both iPad Pro models.

On March 21, 2017, a new iPad was announced. The hardware includes an A9 processor and is designed to be a budget version of the iPad.

In June 2017, the iPad Pro's second generation hardware was announced to have 12.9 and 10.5-inch screens.

On March 28, 2018, the new iPad 9.7-inch 2018 model (6th generation) was announced. The new model uses the A10 Fusion processor and fully supports the Apple Pencil, it replaces the 2017 model.

On October 30, 2018, the third-generation iPad Pro was announced and was the first generation to support 1TB of storage.

On March 18, 2019, Apple announced the iPad Air (2019) and the 5th generation iPad Mini, both with A12 Bionic processors.