In January 2010, Steve Jobs introduced the iPad. He explained that this was the future and that this was the post-PC era. However, he was wrong, as computers are still highly in trend. Furthermore, the iPad now also looks like a notebook.
Fourteen years ago, Steve Jobs, together with Apple, presented the new iPad. During his appearance, he told the attending audience that he had a vision for a world after the PC. That’s why he said there needed to be a device that could connect the world of netbooks and the iPhone.
To support his words, he presented the iPad at that moment. Because for Steve Jobs, this was the revolution that would ultimately replace the PC. And he was confident at the press conference: “Our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary product at an incredible price.”
After all, the iPad started back then at “only” 499 US dollars. With inflation, that would be about 670 euros in 2024.
During a later discussion panel, Jobs said that the time for computers would come to an end:
PCs will be like trucks. They will still exist, but one in X people will need them. (…) We love to talk about the post-PC era, but when it actually begins, it’s awkward.
iPad with declining sales and a changing market
What does it look like now? Steve Jobs was mistaken. Because the iPad did not replace computers in the following years, even though some surely bought an iPad for work or personal use.
In fact, the iPad saw significantly declining sales in the following years, which Apple did not expect. Because instead of 70 million devices, only “just” 14 million were sold in the end.
However, the iPad also changed from generation to generation. When Jobs flamboyantly introduced the iPad in 2010, the device was a closed system that could do everything. And without accessories like a mouse or keyboard. That was not needed in Jobs’ vision back then.
In recent years, Apple has increasingly diluted this unique selling point: In the following years, accessories like keyboard add-ons and mice were introduced, and the tablet kept appearing like a multifunctional PC replacement, without really wanting to replace the PC. Nowadays, for many fans and viewers, the iPad with the Magic Keyboard and a mouse looks more like a modern laptop.
Instead of replacing the computer, one has more or less created their own “mobile” PC.
By the way, Steve Jobs saved Apple just before bankruptcy. His saving idea was a new distribution channel, which brought the company several million dollars in revenue in no time. You can read the entire story directly on MeinMMO:
