New iPads likely to be unveiled

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO

Apple is expected to round out its lineup of gadgets for the holiday shopping season with the unveiling of its latest iPads today.

The San Francisco showcase is likely to feature remodeled versions of Apple’s standard-sized iPad with a 10-inch display screen and the iPad Mini with a nearly 8-inch screen. Hewing to its usually tight-lipped ways, Apple Inc. hasn’t shared details about what’s on the agenda. The Cupertino, Calif., company merely sent out invitations that said, “We still have a lot to cover.”

Apple’s secrecy notwithstanding, glimpses of the revamped iPads have been showing up in videos posted on the Internet, including on websites that provided early — and accurate — peeks at the new iPhones Apple rolled out last month.

It will be a shock if Apple isn’t taking the wraps off new iPads today because it has been nearly a year since the previous generation came out. This would be the fifth generation of Apple’s tablet computer. The original iPad debuted in early 2010 and accelerated the consumer shift away from traditional laptop and desktop computers. Tablets, including rival devices inspired by the iPad, now are outselling laptops.

If the unauthorized previews of the new iPads are correct, this year’s standard-sized model is getting a more-noticeable makeover than last year’s. It’s expected to be even thinner and lighter than its predecessor and designed more like the iPad Mini with slimmer sides and tighter curves on the back. To conform with the new look, Apple also is expected to introduce new versions of its smart covers — the polyurethane shields that attach to iPads to protect the screen. The covers also can be detached and folded into a stand for the device.

Apple probably will add its high-definition “Retina Display” to the iPad Mini to stay competitive with recent upgrades to the smaller tablets sold by Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

Both sizes of iPad almost certainly will come with iOS 7, Apple’s latest mobile operating system, already installed. The new operating software has been available to download on most of the previous generations of the iPad since last month. Some iPad owners have complained that iOS 7 doesn’t look as good or run as well on older tablets.

The new iPads also may come equipped with a biometric sensor that enables a user’s fingerprints to serve as a password instead of typing a numeric code to unlock the device. The fingerprint technology is part of the iPhone 5S, Apple’s latest high-end smartphone.

If Apple is consistent with its past practices, the prices on the new iPads won’t change. Prices on the standard-sized iPad usually start at $499, and the cheapest iPad Mini goes for $329. That has left Apple’s tablets more expensive than rival models, but the company has maintained the iPad is worth it.

The higher prices nevertheless have eroded the iPad’s market share. The research firm Gartner Inc. estimates that tablets running Google’s Android operating system will end this year with a 50 percent share of the worldwide market versus 49 percent for the iPad. Just two years ago, the iPad commanded a 65 percent market share compared with 30 percent for Android tablets, according to Gartner.