The History of the iPad: A Revolutionary Tablet
Apple's iPad has come a long way since its release in 2010, and it's hard to believe that it was only four years ago when this revolutionary tablet first hit the market. Since then, the iPad has undergone numerous transformations, and today it remains one of the most popular tablets on the market.
The First Generation iPad
Released in April 2010, the first generation iPad was a game-changer for Apple's mobile devices. It featured a 9.7-inch multi-touch display with a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels, and it was powered by an Apple A4 processor. The iPad also had Wi-Fi connectivity and supported Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. The device came in two storage options: 16GB or 32GB. This was the first tablet to gain widespread popularity, and its success paved the way for future generations of iPads.
The Second Generation iPad
In March 2011, Apple released the second generation iPad, which marked a significant improvement over its predecessor. The new device featured an advanced Retina Display that raised its resolution to 2048 x 1536 pixels. This was a major leap forward in terms of display quality, and it set a new standard for tablets at the time. The iPad also supported LTE connectivity, although this feature was limited to specific countries. Other notable features included a faster Apple A5x processor with quad-core graphics, a five-megapixel rear camera that could record 1080p HD video, and a larger battery that made it thicker and heavier than its predecessor.
The Third Generation iPad
On March 7th, 2012, Apple released the third generation iPad, which was designed to compete with the Kindle Fire. The new device featured an even more advanced Retina Display, as well as improved LTE connectivity and support for the Apple A5x processor. Other notable features included a five-megapixel rear camera that could record 1080p HD video, and a lightning connector instead of traditional USB. Although there were no changes to its design, this model marked a significant improvement over its predecessor in terms of performance and capabilities.
The Fourth Generation iPad
On October 23rd, 2012, Apple released the fourth generation iPad, which was designed to address complaints about limited LTE support. The new device featured wider LTE compatibility, as well as a faster A6x chip, a lightning connector, and HD resolution for FaceTime calls. Although there were no changes to its design, this model marked a significant improvement over its predecessor in terms of performance and capabilities.
The Fifth Generation iPad or iPad Air
On October 22nd, 2013, Apple released the fifth generation iPad, which was designed to be thinner and lighter than its predecessors. The new device featured an Apple A7 processor along with an additional Apple M7 coprocessor to constantly collect sensor data without draining the battery. This model marked a significant redesign of the iPad, with a smaller screen bezel similar to the iPad Mini. The front-facing camera was also improved to record 720p HD video, and Apple began referring to the rear-facing camera as the "iSight" camera.
The Sixth Generation iPad or iPad Air 2
On October 2014, Apple released the sixth generation iPad, which was designed to be even thinner and lighter than its predecessor. The new device featured the A8x processor and an upgraded M8 motion coprocessor. The iSight camera was improved to eight megapixels, and the design was even more streamlined. Although the iPad Air 2 was kind of overshadowed by the release of the iPhone 6 and 6 plus, it had one feature that drew a lot of attention: the new Touch ID sensor.
The Seventh Generation iPad
On March 21st, 2017, Apple released the seventh generation iPad, which caused some confusion since they referred to it as the "iPad 2017" and the "seventh-generation iPad." This model was more powerful than its predecessors, featuring the A9 processor and M9 motion coprocessor. However, it did not feature a fully laminated display with an anti-reflective coating like the iPad Air 2 had. The device's price came in at $329, which was $70 less than its predecessor.
The Eighth Generation iPad
On March 28th, 2018, Apple released the eighth generation iPad, which is referred to as the sixth generation iPad by Apple, but most people refer to it as the 8th generation iPad. The device features a 9.7-inch display and advanced A10 Fusion Processors. This model supports the Apple Pencil, which was previously only supported on more expensive iPad Pros. Apple added this feature to the lower-end iPad to make it more appealing to students and educators.
The Future of the iPad
Rumors suggest that we could see new iPads as soon as this year, featuring rounded displays with thinner bezels and Face ID similar to the iPhone X. The future of the iPad is likely to be shaped by advancements in technology, including artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and 5G connectivity. As Apple continues to evolve its tablet offerings, we can expect to see even more innovative features and capabilities that will make the iPad an essential tool for anyone looking to stay connected on-the-go.
In conclusion, the history of the iPad is a story of innovation and evolution. From its humble beginnings as a game-changing device in 2010 to its current status as one of the most popular tablets on the market, the iPad has come a long way. As Apple continues to push the boundaries of what's possible with technology, we can't wait to see what the future holds for this revolutionary tablet.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey guys, it’s Greg with Apple Explained,and today we’re going to explore the historyof the iPad.This topic was the first place winner of lastweeks voting poll and if you didn’t getto vote, make sure you’re subscribed, thatway the voting polls will show up right inyour activity feed and you can let me knowwhich video you’d like to see next.So the iPad may have been released in 2010,but its roots go all the way back to 1993with Apple’s first tablet computer calledthe Newton MessagePad 100.And as you can imagine, the first MessagePadwasn’t able to do much more than basic computeroperations, but it served as Apple’s firsttouchscreen device, and paved the way formajor developments like the iPad in the future.Now I should mention that the Newton MessagePadwasn’t the only tablet computer Apple wasworking on at the time.They were also developing a prototype tabletcalled PenLite, which never made it to marketbecause Apple was afraid that it would takesales away from the MessagePad.And this decision may have been a mistake,because in 1998, after the release of severalother MessagePad models, the tablet line wasofficially discontinued.The focus was then put on desktop-based technologiesand it wasn’t until 2007 that Apple cameback to the mobile-computing stage.Even though the company put lots of effortin designing a new version of a tablet computer,Steve Jobs decided to debut a mobile phoneinstead, the iPhone.Now this is where things get interesting becausethe technology used in the first iPhone wasactually developed for a tablet device.And one of the factors that led to the developmentof the iPad actually had to do with Microsoft.It all happened at a dinner table during abirthday party.One of Microsoft's employees, who was celebratinghis 50th birthday, kept bragging about howthe new Microsoft tablet was going to changethe world and the direction of technologicaldevelopment.Having listened to this story too many times,Jobs was sick of hearing about Microsoft’sideas when he believed they were doing itall wrong.It was then that he decided to show the world,and Microsoft, how great a tablet could reallybe.The following day, he walked into Apple andrequested a new, multi touch tablet devicebe developed.His idea came to life six months later butthe product wasn’t released.Jobs made a last minute decision that completelychanged the history of Apple and the techindustry as a whole, he decided that developinga multitouch mobile phone was more importantthan a multitouch tablet.So he put the iPad project on hold and focusedon developing the iPhone instead.So that’s how the first iPhone came to bereleased in 2007, three years before the iPad,even though a tablet device was the originalidea behind its development.Now three years later, rumors began to spreadabout the long awaited release of Apple’sfirst tablet.And the iPad was officially announced on January27th, 2010 at an Apple Press Conference inSan Francisco.But what many customers at the time didn’tknow was that Apple had introduced severalchanges to the iPad between the announcementof its release and the pre-order date.Even though these weren’t major changes,it is important to mention that they addeda few functions to the tablet’s toggle switchlike sound muting or screen rotation locking.The first iPad officially became availableon the US market on April 3rd, 2010 and itwas only available at the Apple Store.It took less than a month for Apple to releasethe 3G enabled version of the iPad on April30th but it wasn’t until May 28th, 2010that the iPad found its way outside the USMarket.It first became available in Australia, France,Canada, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom,while countries like Hong Kong, Ireland, NewZealand and Singapore had to wait until June23rd for its release.Now reception to the iPad was pretty polarizing.Many tech journalists and consumers failedto see the benefits of a device that did thesame things as their notebook computer, andmany dismissed the iPad as nothing more thanan oversized iPod Touch.But some people saw it another way, they understoodthat a mobile device with a large multi-touchdisplay would change the way people consumeand create content.And this caused a lot of excitement and anticipationamong enthusiasts around the world.Now I should mention that a few years beforethe iPad’s release, Steve Jobs told WaltMossberg of The Wall Street Journal that hedidn’t think a touch screen tablet wouldbe a success, saying that users wanted keyboards.But perhaps Jobs had a change of heart afterseeing the iPhone become wildly popular despiteits software keyboard.Years later, the iPad became one of Apple’sbest-selling products of all time.But what’s interesting is that Apple wasn’tthe first to come up with the “iPad” name.In 1994, Intel was working on a tablet devicecalled the information pad or IPAD for short.They aimed for a flat screen, portable, wirelesstouch screen device that would be availableat an affordable price.But the project didn’t get very far.PC manufacturers were angry that Intel wastrying to take business away from them andthis was an issue since Intel provided manyof those manufacturers with the chips thatpowered their PCs.So Intel’s IPAD never actually went on sale.But that isn’t the only story surroundingthe iPads name.After Apple announced the device, the internetwas flooded with feminine hygiene jokes, referringto the “connection” between hygiene productsand the name “iPad”.The trend started circulating on Twitter whereyou would come across tweets like “Willthe next one have wings?”or “Will the 64GB version be called iMaxiPad?”Some women actually found themselves grossedout by the cringe-worthy name at first butthe situation settled down quickly.On the other hand, most male users didn’tsee an issue with the tablet being called“iPad.”In fact, many claimed that iPad was a muchbetter name for a tablet than iSlate or iTablet,which were a few of the options in the iPad’searly development.It’s also interesting to mention the controversysurrounding the release of iPad in Israel.While every country in the world anticipatedthe release of the device, Israel decidedto ban it because of the belief that its WiFimight cause disruption of other devices.Putting all the controversies to the side,the first iPad was truly a revolutionary product.It achieved amazing sales performance in thefirst 80 days of its release with over 300,000units sold in its first 24 hours!One month later, over one million iPad hadalready been sold.And it took just 80 days for the sales tobreak three million.The iPad was nothing short of a game-changer.It featured a 9.7 inch display at 1024x768,and unlike the iPhone at the time, it allowedusers to change the home screen orientationfrom vertical to landscape.When it came to storage capacity, the firstiPad offered three options at 16, 32 and 64GB.After all was said and done, the originaliPad enjoyed over 15 million sales beforethe iPad 2 took its place.On March 2, 2011, Steve Jobs introduced anew version of the iPad, called the iPad 2,which was thinner, lighter and faster thanthe previous model.This was the first iPad to support Smart Covers,which were able to “wake up” the tabletwhen opened and could be used as a stand forwatching video or while typing on the display.It also featured an improved dual-core AppleA5 processor that significantly enhanced itsperformance.Even though Smart Covers received most ofthe attention, the iPad 2 included other featuresthat were quite impressive as well.It came with both front- and rear-facing camerasthat allowed users to communicate via FaceTime.It also featured AirPlay compatibility, meaningusers could wirelessly connect it to theirTV.Next came the third generation of Apple’siPad, which featured an advanced Retina Displaythat raised its resolution to 2048 x1536.Released on March 7th, 2012, the new iPadsupported LTE, even though this feature waslimited to specific countries.It also featured a faster Apple A5x processorwith quad-core graphics, as well as a fivemegapixel rear camera that could record 1080pHD video.And I should mention that this was the firstmodel of iPad to become thicker and heavierthan its predecessor.Something that came as a surprise to mostpeople, but the main reason for this was thatthe iPad 2 required a much larger batteryto power the retina display and achieve thesame battery life as the original iPad.Now on October 23, 2012 came the fourth generationiPad.And at this time, Apple discontinued the productionof the previous iPad model, as well as announcedthe release of the iPad Mini.The fourth generation iPad was Apple’s responseto the complaints about limited LTE support,and that’s why this model featured widerLTE compatibility, among other improvementslike a faster A6x chip, a lightning connecter,and HD resolution for FaceTime calls.Although there weren’t any changes to itsdesign.The fifth generation iPad or the iPad Airwas released on October 22nd 2013, and itfeatured an Apple A7 processor along withan additional Apple M7 coprocessor to constantlycollect sensor data without draining the battery.And this model marked the first major redesignof the iPad since the iPad 2.It was both lighter and thinner than its predecessors,coming in at only 7.5 mm thick, and had asmaller screen bezel similar to the iPad Mini.The front-facing camera was also improvedto record 720p HD video and Apple began referringto the rear facing camera as the iPad’s“iSight” camera.This was also the first iPad to be availablein space gray.October 2014 saw the release of Apple’siPad Air 2, which was the first iPad availablein gold.This model featured the A8x processor andthe upgraded M8 motion coprocessor.The iSight camera was improved to eight megapixelsand the design was even thinner than its predecessor.Even though the iPad Air 2 was kind of overshadowedby the release of the iPhone 6 and 6 plus,it had one feature that drew a lot of attention- the new touch ID sensor which was previouslyfeatured in the iPhone 5s.Now quite a bit of time passed before theseventh generation iPad was released on March21st 2017.And this model caused some confusion sinceApple referred to it as the iPad 2017 andseventh-generation iPad, so no one was reallysure what to call it.It was more powerful than its predecessorsince it featured the A9 processor and M9motion coprocessor, but it did not featurea fully laminated display with an anti-reflectivecoating like the iPad Air 2 had.And this was likely to keep the cost downsince Apple wanted to provide a budget versionof the iPad for education and point-of-saleuse.So the seventh-generation iPads price camein at $329, which was $70 less than its predecessor.Now the most recent version of the iPad wasreleased on March 28th, 2018 at Apple’seducation event, and it features a 9.7 inchdisplay and advanced A10 Fusion Processors.Now this model is referred to as the sixthgeneration iPad by Apple, even though mostpeople refer to it as the 8th generation iPad,since it is the eighth model produced.Now the big feature of this iPad is that itsupports the Apple Pencil, which was previouslyonly supported on the more expensive iPadPros.And Apple added this feature to the lowerend iPad to make it more appealing to studentsand educators.So as it stands today, the iPad really isthe greatest tablet money can buy.And it’s definitely the most popular, withabout 35% of the global tablet market share.But where’s the iPad headed as we look tothe future?Well rumors suggest that we could see newiPads as soon as this year, featuring roundeddisplays with thinner bezels and Face ID similarto the iPhone X.But a downside is that they may not have aheadphone jack, which is something I do misson my iPhone 7.But either way, Apple will definitely raisethe bar with the next generation of iPads.So that is the history of the iPad, and ifyou want to vote for the next video topic,don’t forget to subscribe.Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you nexttime.\n"
