First iPad Released April 3, 2010: Price, Features and Impact

Apple released the first iPad in the United States on April 3, 2010. The 9.7-inch touchscreen device started at $499, ran most iPhone apps and offered web browsing, email, video, music, games and electronic books in a thin slate. Tablets existed before it, but the iPad combined mobile software, battery life and a large developer ecosystem in a product that reached mainstream consumers.

What Apple Announced in January

Steve Jobs introduced the iPad on January 27 at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center. He positioned it between a smartphone and laptop, arguing that the middle category needed to perform common activities better than either one. Netbooks were inexpensive, but Apple said they did not create a distinct experience.

The original model used Apple’s A4 processor and a 1024-by-768 multitouch display. Storage choices were 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. Wi-Fi-only devices weighed about 1.5 pounds; cellular versions were slightly heavier. Apple claimed up to ten hours of web browsing, video or music use.

Prices ranged from $499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi device to $829 for a 64GB model with Wi-Fi and 3G. AT&T offered cellular data plans without a long-term contract. The iPad used a micro-SIM, a format then unfamiliar to many US buyers.

Its omissions drew attention. There was no camera, USB port, memory-card slot or support for Adobe Flash in the browser. Third-party apps could not multitask at launch. Those limits reflected Apple’s preference for controlled hardware and software, a choice that simplified use but restricted owners.

Release Day and the App Ecosystem

Wi-Fi models reached US stores on Saturday, April 3. Apple said it sold more than 300,000 that day, counting deliveries of preorders and sales through Apple retail locations and authorized sellers. Customers downloaded over one million apps and 250,000 books from the new iBookstore during the first day.

The existing App Store gave the iPad an immediate library. Most iPhone applications could run at normal size or be enlarged, while developers could create interfaces for the larger display. Apple also released iPad versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote, presenting the device as capable of light document work rather than consumption alone.

The 3G versions went on sale April 30. International expansion followed in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom on May 28. Apple reported three million sales within 80 days.

The April date appears on the 2010 calendar eleven days after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act and seventeen days before the Deepwater Horizon explosion—an example of how consumer releases sit beside political and disaster history.

Reading, Video and Work on a Glass Screen

Publishers saw the iPad as both opportunity and threat. The iBookstore offered an alternative to Amazon’s Kindle ecosystem, while newspaper and magazine companies developed visual editions. The screen supported color photography and video that e-ink readers could not, though it was more reflective outdoors and heavier for long reading.

Streaming services moved quickly. Netflix released an iPad app at launch, letting subscribers watch over Wi-Fi. Games used the larger touch surface for controls, board layouts and drawing. Musicians adopted the tablet for scores, recording controls and software instruments.

For schools and businesses, the appeal was instant-on access and easier handling than a laptop. The limitations were equally real: file management was restricted, typing on glass was slower for many users, and shared-device administration was immature. Accessories such as keyboards and stands turned the simple slate into varied workstations.

The device also intensified arguments over closed platforms. Apple reviewed apps, controlled the only official store and took a share of digital sales. Publishers wanted access to subscriber data and more freedom over pricing. Those disputes became central as mobile platforms grew.

How the iPad Changed the Tablet Market

Earlier tablet computers often used desktop operating systems with styluses and short battery life. The iPad instead expanded a phone-style interface designed for fingers. Its success pushed Google and hardware manufacturers to improve Android for larger screens and led Microsoft toward a touch-focused Windows strategy and Surface hardware.

Apple released the thinner iPad 2 in 2011 with cameras and a faster processor. Later models added high-resolution displays, smaller and larger sizes, pencil input and laptop-class chips. The product line gradually moved from one general-purpose device to consumer, education and professional tiers.

Not every early prediction came true. Tablets did not replace personal computers for all work, and smartphone screens grew large enough to absorb many casual tasks. Yet tablets established durable roles in entertainment, travel, classrooms, retail, aviation and field work.

The Meaning of April 3, 2010

The iPad was not the first tablet and did not contain wholly new components. Its significance came from integration: responsive multitouch hardware, a mobile operating system, a store full of apps and media services tied to an existing customer base.

The first-day sales number also requires context. It included preorders delivered that day, not only people who walked into stores. More important than the launch crowd was the sustained adoption that followed and the response from software makers.

April 3 marks the public release, while January 27 is the announcement date and April 30 the cellular launch. Distinguishing them answers the common question “When did the iPad come out?” without forcing several milestones into one. The full 2010 US calendar provides the surrounding dates.