Amaya Toman At first, the iPad seemed like a rather controversial device. Skeptical voices were heard predicting the failure of the Apple tablet, and some wondered what the iPad was for when Apple had already given the world the iPhone and the Mac. But the Cupertino company clearly knew what they were doing, and the iPad soon began to reap unprecedented success. So much unseen that in the end it became the unrivaled best-selling product from Apple's workshop.
Only six months have passed since the debut of the iPad, when the then CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, announced with appropriate pride that the Apple tablet was overwhelmingly surpassing Macy in sales. This great and unexpected news was announced during the announcement of financial results for the fourth quarter of 2010. Steve Jobs said on this occasion that Apple managed to sell 4,19 million iPads in the previous three months, while the number of Macs sold in the same period was "only" 3,89 million.
In October 2010, the iPad thus became the fastest-selling electronic device of all time, significantly surpassing the previous record held by DVD players. Steve Jobs had unlimited faith in the iPad: "I think it's going to be really, really big," he said at the time, and he didn't forget to take a dig at competing tablets with seven-inch screens, while the first-generation iPad boasted a 9,7-inch screen. He did not miss the fact that Google warned tablet manufacturers not to use the current version of the Android operating system for their devices. “What does it mean when your software vendor tells you not to use their software on your tablet?” he asked.
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Steve Jobs introduced the first ever iPad on January 27, 2010 and on that occasion called it a device that will be closer to users than a laptop. The thickness of the first iPad was 0,5 inches, the apple tablet weighed a little over half a kilo, and the diagonal of its multitouch display measured 9,7 inches. The tablet was powered by a 1GHz Apple A4 chip and buyers had a choice between 16GB and 64GB versions. Pre-orders started on March 12, 2010, the Wi-Fi version went on sale on April 3, 27 days later the 3G version of the iPad also went on sale.
The development of the iPad has been quite a long journey and even predates the research and development of the iPhone, which was released two years earlier. The first iPad prototype dates back to 2004, while a year earlier Steve Jobs said that Apple had no plans to produce a tablet. "It turns out people want keyboards," he claimed at the time. In March 2004, however, the Apple company already filed a patent application for an "electronic device" that in the drawings very strongly resembled the future iPad, and under which Steve Jobs and Jony Ive were signed. The Newton MessagePad, a PDA released by Apple in the XNUMXs, and whose production and sales were soon discontinued by Apple, could be considered a certain predecessor of the iPad.
Source: Cult of Mac (1), Cult of Mac (2)
With the way Apple coughs up Macs, there is nothing to be surprised about.. if the conference on the 30th is not worth it, in the next 10 years there will be no more Macs. The current offer is perhaps more than tragic except for the iMac.
According to my experience, the concept of a tablet is currently outdated and you only use it as a specialized device if you need to have a light computer in your hand and, for example, give a lecture from it or collect data into it. After I bought a convertible laptop that can easily be turned into a tablet, I never touched a tablet again. Thanks to the convertible design, I don't even have to hold it, but the keyboard serves as a stand (even on the legs or on the duvet or at the table). When I flip the keyboard over, I have a full laptop. I have 2 devices in one, i.e. I don't have to worry about 2 devices (update, backup...) and I can use both tablet applications and full-fledged desktop applications. Those who try it will never go back to the tablet.
The problem with the iPad is not in the design, nor in the control, but in iOS. Because of iOS, the iPad remains a giant smartphone that can't make calls, even though on paper it would have pocketed the laptops of a few years ago. Computer = programming, or at least the ability to program, and you won't compile (or run) iOS without extreme masturbation or Hello world. Apple took development back 20 years (1 process, one window, unconnected apps, apps based filesystem) and reinvents the wheel - and everyone, including many competitors, jumped on it. But it must be said that development can move in a different direction, so after 20 years we will be somewhere else.
In my opinion, the iPad has a great future, however, based on WWDC 2020, Apple showed that it intends to focus on the Mac as well (ARM Mac, Mac OS 11 Big Sur). iPad is better for some jobs - brainstorming, product presentations, solid document creation, content consumption - Mac for others - also document creation, video editing, music creation, a lot of professional work.. It will be interesting to see if the iPad ends up killing the mac , or if both products will co-exist.