Dina Bader: Let's celebrate a decade of iPad with the best future designs and memes

Apple iPad fans have some ideas on where the popular tablet line should go as it begins its second decade.

On January 27, 2010, the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the first iPad. The tablet, which Jobs called "so much more intimate than a laptop," would arrive on the market a few months later. As the iPad begins its second decade, folks have a lot of ideas where the tablet should go from here.

The more interesting concepts are highlighted here!

The Next iPad?

iPad Pro 2020

The fourth-generation iPad Pro is probably the next one to get released. In late 2019, the folks over at OnLeaks and iGeeksblog published renders suggesting the next Pro tablets will include a three-camera system similar to the one on the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Apple hasn't refreshed its iPad Pro lineup for over a year. If these renders look anything like the real deal, get ready for one awesome tablet lineup for the new decade!

Be transparent, Apple

Cupertino loves to talk about transparency when it comes to the privacy and security baked into its products. Perhaps it should also release the world's first transparent iPad! In a design, nearly seven years old, artist Ricardo Afonso envisions a clipboard-like tablet that's all glass and oh-so-cool. Of course, a real transparent iPad would have to ditch the skeuomorphic app designs from many years ago.

A foldable iPad, not iPhone

Samsung was the first out of the gate with a foldable smartphone. While it's likely Apple will eventually follow suit, perhaps it should first set its sights on the first foldable iPad. Back in 2019, LetsGoDigital anticipated this type of device. As you can see, the design offers a near-edge-to-edge display and gray back.

One complaint: LetsGoDigital's design looks like it features a first-gen iPad camera, which we can do without!

A massive surface

Our Joe Keller thinks the time has come for bigger iPads. For inspiration, he says Apple should look to Microsoft and it's Surface Studio for inspiration, and also iMac. I would agree.

A 27-inch iPad would be appealing to artists and videophiles alike who could use Apple Pencil on more real estate than ever before. Sure the iPad Max would cost a lot. It would also be a game-changer for a company in need of the next big thing.

Just add color

In recent years, Apple has moved slightly away from silver and space gray when it comes to iPhone colors. The same can't be said for the iPad, which remains stuck in the stuffy world of silver, space gray, and gold only. Let's hope this changes in the future and look at former guru Jony Ive for inspiration.

Back in 2016, Ive designed and auctioned off a one-of-a-kind iPad Pro anodized with a special yellow dye that shipped with a cobalt blue leather smart cover and lined with a suede microfiber. It also came with a unique orange Apple Pencil.

Sold and benefiting London's Design Museum for £50,000, the special tablet showed what Apple could do with color on a larger mobile device. Yes, please!

macOS/iPadOS Hybrid

The introduction of Mac Catalyst means iPadOS developers can more easily bring their titles to the desktop. Wouldn't some sort of macOS/iPadOS be a better option? Kevin Noki thought so in 2018 and his would-be design still looks good two years later, no?

And Memes

There have been lots of funny memes released over the years with iPad as the focus. I've included a few of my favorites here:

OMG

Hasta, La Vista, Baby

Never gets old

USB-C for iPad Pro. I can charge my iPhone with it & use it with an external monitor! And then a new Apple Pencil that charges wirelessly. #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/9vBfZlydzW
— Rafranz ⁷ (@RafranzDavis) October 30, 2018