Happy 8th birthday to the iPad

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quotes on Apple
iPad obviously makes the list (but Apple Pencil doesn't).
Photo: Apple

Happy birthday to the iPad.

Apple’s revolutionary tablet first went on sale eight years ago today, two months after its big unveiling at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. It remains the best tablet money can buy, and recent rumors have claimed it’s going to get even better in 2018.

Apple began developing the iPad in 2002 and filed its first patent application for a tablet two years later. The project would be shelved so that Apple could turn its attention to the iPhone, but it was never scrapped. In January 2010, Steve Jobs revealed Apple’s first tablet to the world.

The iPad has come a long way since then, with more than 350 million units sold worldwide, and the best catalog of tablet software you’ll find anywhere. It’s also more affordable than ever before, with the new 9.7-inch iPad starting at just $329 — or $299 for those in education.

Big things for iPad in 2018

Apple has continued to push the iPad as the future of computing, despite falling sales since its heyday in 2014. That will continue this year with the launch of a new iPad Pro lineup that’s expected to adopt iPhone X’s best features, including its edge-to-edge display and Face ID.

In the video below, Jobs unveils the iPad for the first time. It’s a great reminder of how far the device has come, and what it looked like eight years ago.

https://youtu.be/jj6q_z2Ni9M

What’s interesting is that the iPad hasn’t really changed all that much in eight years. It’s still a large screen with just one button. The fundamentals of its software remain the same. It has just gotten better and more powerful. Apple clearly hit the nail on the head first time around.

Happy birthday, iPad!

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