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 | This article needs to be updated. (February 2020) |
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| Developer | Apple Inc. |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | |
| Type | Tablet computer |
| Release date | Depends on model
|
| Discontinued | Depends on model
|
| Units sold | 500 million (as of 2020)[5] |
| Operating system | iOS (2010–2019)[6] iPadOS (2019–present)[6] |
| Connectivity | WiFi and cellular |
| Online services | |
| Related articles | iPhone, iPod Touch (Comparison) |
| Website | apple.com/ipad |
The iPad is a small tablet computer made by Apple Inc. Apple first showed it on January 27, 2010. It is larger than a smartphone and smaller than a laptop computer. It has a multiple touch interface (use two or more fingers to do certain things). It is different than a laptop in that it doesn't have a keyboard. Instead, it has a "virtual keyboard" using the touch screen, and a physical keyboard can be added. It doesn't have Adobe Flash. This keeps it from crashing, but some websites will not display correctly. Until iOS 9, also you cannot have multiple windows open at the same time and drag and drop things between them.
Apple made an early version of a tablet computer in 1993 called the Newton MessagePad. It had similar functions to the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad except it didn't have advanced things like the internet or a voice program. Apple stopped making Newtons in 1998.
Apple re-entered the mobile device market in 2007 when the iPhone was released. Some of the iPhone's features are based on the Newton.
By the end of 2009, rumors about the iPad had been around for several years, and on January 27, 2010 Steve Jobs announced the iPad. It was not the first tablet to be sold, but it was the first one to sell in large numbers. It also was the first one that was controlled almost entirely by fingers touching the screen. Many of the earlier tablets (and PDAs, or personal digital assistants) used a lot of buttons or a stylus to control the tablet.
The first generation iPad was able to be bought in the United States in April 2010 and most of the rest of the world within several months.
As of 2021, Apple sold more than 425 million iPads.[8]
- ↑ "Supplier List" (PDF). Apple. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
- ↑ Wagner, Wieland (2010-05-28). "iPad Factory in the Firing Line: Worker Suicides Have Electronics Maker Uneasy in China". Der Spiegel. ISSN 2195-1349. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ↑ Dou, Eva (2013-05-29). "Apple Shifts Supply Chain Away From Foxconn to Pegatron". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ↑ Lovejoy, Ben (2015-10-22). "Majority of iPhone/iPad workers at Pegatron's Shanghai factory exceed 60-hour work limit, claims China Labor Watch". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ↑ "Apple has sold a total of 500 million iPads in the last 10 years". AppleInsider. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Byford, Sam (2019-06-04). "iPadOS should make the iPad a better tablet, but not a laptop". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ↑ "iOS and iPadOS - Feature Availability". Apple. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ↑ Nations, Daniel (2021-03-03). "How Many iPads Had Been Sold?". Lifewire. Retrieved 2022-09-18.