
If you ever think age is just a number and you're still young at heart, the Apple iPad has turned 15 years old today (just saying!). Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs unveiled the company's first tablet device on January 27, 2010, and it was launched in April of the same year.
Jobs told the audience that Apple had already established itself in the mobile devices business, beating Samsung and Nokia in the revenue game. The iPhone had been around for three years, and Apple's laptops had evolved into mature devices, from the PowerBook in 1991 to the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.
While the iPhone found a place in the customer's pocket and the MacBook on their desk, Jobs explained that Apple felt a void existed for a device category offering more convenience and a better experience than the iPhone and MacBook at certain things. For tasks like web browsing, sending emails, browsing photos, ebooks, and watching videos.
“iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before,” the CEO said.
The original iPad featured a 9.7-inch LED backlight display with multi-touch support and 10-hour battery backup. It allowed users to interact with content on a touchscreen several times bigger than the iPhone, something a Mac couldn't. Users could rotate the iPad's user interface in any direction, and the device was thinner and lighter than laptops and netbooks.
Priced at $499, one of the selling points of the first-generation iPad was that it supported over 140,000 apps available for iPhone and iPod Touch on the App Store back then. Apple also tried to make it a lucrative option for business users by introducing the iWork for iPad suite.
iPad eventually evolved into a more potent device and an alternative to Mac and iPhone as it hit several milestones. Apple released the iPad mini as the first sub-series of the tablet lineup in 2012, featuring internal specifications similar to the iPad 2 but with a small hardware footprint.
Apple unwrapped its flagship tablet models under the "iPad Pro" branding in 2015. The company has since used iPad Pro to deliver its top-of-the-line tablet hardware specs. For instance, features like Apple Pencil, USB-C support, Face ID, ProMotion Display, LIDAR scanner, quad-speaker setup, and OLED display debuted on the iPad Pro before reaching the cheaper models.

iPad's original design featured a chassis with rounded corners, while its screen remained rectangular for several years. However, it was in 2018 that Apple introduced the third-generation iPad Pro with an all-screen design and rounded corners to claim more screen real estate.
From 0.5 inches in 2010, Apple reduced the iPad's thickness to just 5.1mm (0.2 inches approx.) on the M4 iPad Pro in 2024, calling it the "thinnest Apple product ever."
While Apple initially intended to create an entertainment device to bridge the gap, it has transformed the iPad lineup into something that can do much more. Its initial groundwork includes forking the iOS operating system to create iPadOS, offering several tablet-focused features tailored to differentiate the iPad and leverage its bigger screen.

Apple added file management and improved multitasking on the iPad by bringing features such as Split View, Side View, Centre Window, and Stage Manager. It also configured Safari on iPadOS to prefer desktop versions of websites by default and introduced Sidecar, which doubles up the iPad as an extended screen for Mac computers.
It started fitting the desktop-class M-series Apple Silicon chips in the iPad Pro lineup to make them more powerful. Apple's advanced video editing software Final Cut Pro 2 for iPad allows users to shoot and edit videos with a wireless multi-camera setup.

While the first-generation iPad offered a keyboard dock accessory, Apple has tried to match the desktop experience by launching the Magic Keyboard for iPad with trackpad and backlight. The Cupertino giant even ran ads trying to convince users why the iPad Pro could be their next computer.
Apple added support for mice and other peripherals over the years. However, the hot topic of whether an iPad can replace a desktop computer remains debatable. On a side note, one survey suggests users prefer iPhone over iPad in many cases, and iPad struggles to attract eyeballs even in cases where it's considered the go-to device.
Apple has highlighted the iPad's productivity benefits, pro apps, and multitasking capabilities. But there are times when Apple's dreams of projecting the iPad as a "do it all" device fall flat, forcing Apple to apologize. Let's see how the iPad's development unfolds in the upcoming years.
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