16 Years Ago today, Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPad – a third category device between iPhone and MacBooks touted as being “far better at some key things“, such as: Web Browsing, Email, Photos, Video, Music, Games, and eBooks.
Originally shipping with a custom build of iPhone OS 3.2 that allowed wallpaper changing, it was later updated to iOS 4.2.1 on November 2010, which then added multitasking capabilities, and app folders. What started as a brand new touchscreen device category which drew skepticism, turned into one of Apple’s strongest lineups to-date.
Key notes about this device
- Pre-orders began March 12th, 2010
. - Steve Jobs says Apple was working on this earlier than the iPhone, but shelved the project for a while when he realized the same ideas could be used in an iPhone
. - Wi-Fi model available for sale on April 3rd, 2010
. - 3G + Wi-Fi model available April 30th, 2010 with At&t
. - Initially sold with 2 prepaid, contract-free data options:
- Unlimited Data or 250 MB for 1/2 price
- On June 2nd 2010, At&t announced that for new customers, the unlimited plan was being replaced with a 2 GB plan at a slightly lower cost. Existing customers had the option to keep their unlimited plan.
- Data plans were activated and cancelled on iPads
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- ~140,000 apps available at time of announcement
. - No cameras were present until the succeeding iPad 2.
. - It’s final update was iOS 5.1.1, which was released May 7th, 2012
Some drawbacks of the first iPad
- Lack of multitasking until November 2010
. - No Adobe Flash support in Safari, which was widely used at the time.
. - Hardware omissions: Camera, SD Card slot, USB ports, which made this more difficult to transfer files to and from without buying adapters.
. - No Files app for file management at the time
. - Limited to iOS 5.1.1
Remembering the original iPad
I still had just gotten my Power Mac G4 AGP Graphics when the original iPad came out, and I was watching the keynote on that Mac – at a time when it was still just good enough for web browsing and the occasional video stream. I remember wanting an iPad so badly to see what it was from a technology enthusiast perspective, and I didn’t even see one in person until going to an Apple Store later that year.
It wasn’t until the iPad 2 that I finally got my hands on one. Years later in 2016, I bought a 1st Gen iPad to try out and see what it was like, using it for music every once in a blue moon until the battery stopped working sometime around 2020. It’s certainly a remarkable device for it’s time.
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- See Web Archive: apple.com/ipad/
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- Left: iPad Pro (2018) – Right: iPad 1st Generation (2010)
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