The iPad is now an indispensable part of our daily lives, but do you remember when it was first introduced ten years ago? The whole world was turned upside down, because the iPad was a real game changer! In these ten years it has undergone many developments. We take you through the timeline of the iPad.
2010: The first iPad
The first generation of the iPad was launched in the US in 2010. This iPad had a screen diameter of 9.7 inches and weighed 700 grams. With this you could read books, listen to music, send emails, play games and of course surf the internet. This iPad was only available in a silver version with a black border with home button on the front. Small downside: this iPad did not have a camera at the time.
2011: The iPad 2
In the iPad developments, the iPad 2 comes next. This was released in early 2011. The first iPad was quite a beast, so the second iPad was a lot thinner, lighter and also much more powerful. And another big improvement: The iPad 2 was equipped with two cameras, so you could take photos and make video calls.
2012: the third and fourth generation
The successor to the iPad 2 was launched in early 2012. The biggest innovation: A Retina display for super-sharp images. This iPad also got a faster processor and a better camera. Less than six months later, Apple came up with the next one. Apple abandoned the wide 30-pin connector and also opted for a lightning connector for the iPad. With this iPad, you could choose the color you wanted for the first time: space gray, gold or silver.
2013 & 2014: iPad Air
In 2013, there was the iPad Air . This iPad was a lot lighter and thinner than its predecessors. The processor was also a lot faster. You could get it in the colors silver with white and gray with black. The second generation iPad Air was announced in 2014 and was equipped with Touch ID for the first time!
2015: iPad Pro
In 2015, Apple introduced a heavier version of the iPad, suitable for professional users: the iPad Pro . This had a 12.9-inch Retina screen, making it larger than the other versions. It had four speakers, making the sound a lot better than before. Also new was the Smart Connector, which allows you to connect a keyboard to your iPad. The iPad Pro also came with the Apple Pencil and the rose gold color option. Six months after the first iPad Pro, a small 11-inch version appeared: much more compact but with a better screen.
2017: iPad & iPad Pro
After a five-year break, there was a 'regular' iPad again: the fifth generation. And it is just as light and thin as the previous iPad Air. This one also has a 9.7-inch Retina display and Touch ID . In the same year, the second generation iPad Pro of 12.9-inch came. Compared to the first generation, this iPad has a screen that is much nicer to look at. This is due to True Tone and a higher image refresh.
2018: iPad & iPad Pro
Another year full of innovations. The new sixth generation of iPad is the first non-iPad Pro to support an Apple Pencil . The new Pro also brings a lot of changes. For the first time, the iPad has a completely new design, without a home button. It looks like a mega iPhone X . This iPad has a Liquid Retina display with rounded corners and you unlock it with Face ID . And from this year, the iPad Pro also has a USB-C connection.
2019: iPad Air & iPad
The iPad Air is making a comeback after five years with the third generation and is almost incomparable to its predecessor. Although: it is still feather-light and ultra-thin. This iPad Air is the first non-iPad Pro to have a Smart Connector to connect an iPad keyboard . This year also sees the seventh generation of the 'regular' iPad. This iPad steps away from the old, familiar 9.7-inch format. Due to the narrower edges, it remains compact.
2020: iPad Pro
The iPad Pro has already received some improvements. The iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch both received a much improved camera - double that! Say hello to Augmented Reality apps .
A story apart: The iPad Mini
In 2012, there was our little big friend: the iPad Mini . This had a completely new casing and was therefore not a literal copy of the previous versions. The iPad Mini was a lot more handy than the larger iPad devices of that time with its 7.9 inches. A year later in 2013, the iPad Mini 2 came. This was equipped with a super-fast processor and a Retina display for razor-sharp images. From the third generation from 2014, the iPad Mini also had Touch ID, so you could unlock it with your fingerprint. Another year later, the iPad Mini 4 came. Not much changed, except that it had become a lot thinner. With the fifth generation from 2019, after a hiatus of 4 years, Apple managed to make this smaller model not work as fast as the most recent iPad Air! Talk about short but powerful!
