In 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs took to the stage
to announce a device that would revolutionize
the way we read, watch, learn, and work. Ten
years on, the iPad remains one of Apple’s
most iconic products, ushering in a personal
computing experience that continues to evolve
at speed.
A DECADE OF INNOVATION
When the first iPad was unveiled at the San
Francisco’s Yerba Buena center on January 27,
2010, many likened the device to a “giant iPod
Touch” and questioned whether there would
be any demand for a tablet at a time when
consumers were making the switch to their first
touch-screen smartphones. They needn’t have
worried; in the decade that’s followed, Apple
has managed to sell more than 360 million
iPads to consumers, businesses, schools, and
governments around the world, and shows
no signs of slowing down. Once a “nice to have”
for consuming video content and chatting with
friends, the iPad is now an indispensable laptop
replacement used by millions.
The original iPad weighed in at 1.5 pounds,
offering a stunning multitouch display with
Apple’s A4 chip and ten hours of battery life. But
it wasn’t perfect. Not only was the device a half-
inch thick, but it had large, distracting bezels,
no multitasking option, a poorly optimized
operating system based off of iPhone OS 3.2,
and no camera or recording capability.
When Apple shipped its successor, the iPad 2,
a year later, the company kept the same wide
bezels but put the tablet on a diet, making
it thinner and lighter, a substantial change
when holding the device in your hands for