Apple dreamed up the iPad before the iPhone, then put it on hold
The iPad's roots run deeper than the iPhone's. Designer Jonathan Ive sketched a stylus tablet in 1991, and Apple began a larger tablet prototype, codenamed K48, in 2004. Ive wanted to finish it first, but he and Steve Jobs agreed the phone mattered more, so the tablet waited until 2010.
Jobs had described the goal decades earlier. In a 1983 speech he spoke of putting a great computer inside a book-sized package that anyone could learn in 20 minutes, with a radio link to other computers so nothing needed plugging in. Apple's first real attempt, the Newton MessagePad of 1993 under chief executive John Sculley, was mocked for handwriting recognition that could not read handwriting, and Jobs ended it after returning to the company. A tablet built from a PowerBook Duo was shelved to protect the Newton's sales.
The first iPad was unveiled on January 27, 2010. Reaction to the name was initially negative, with critics saying it suggested a team oblivious to its connotations. The Wi-Fi model reached American shops on April 3, powered by a 1 GHz A4 chip with 256 MB of memory behind a 1,024 by 768 touchscreen and just four physical buttons. It was soon ranked among the most influential inventions of 2010.
Successors arrived quickly. The second model, in March 2011, was a third thinner and 15 per cent lighter; the third, a year later, brought a 2,048 by 1,536 Retina screen. Later versions switched the old 30-pin connector for Lightning and eventually for USB-C, and added Apple Pencil support. Smaller Mini, thinner Air and more powerful Pro lines joined the range.
In September 2019 the tablets moved from iOS to iPadOS, a variant designed for larger screens. By the third quarter of 2021 the iPad held 34.6 per cent of the tablet market.
Source: IPad
