Apple has announced a new version of its tablet, the iPad Air 2, which it said was the thinnest device of its kind on the market.
It is 6.1mm (0.24in) thick, and also gains a Touch ID fingerprint sensor.
It has an anti-reflective coating on the screen for the first time, and the A8X – a faster version of the processor featured in the firm’s latest iPhones.
However, some analysts have questioned whether the upgrade will be enough to turn around iPad sales.
An upgraded version of the firm’s smaller tablet – called the iPad Mini 3 – was also announced.
Like its bigger sibling, it gets the company’s fingerprint recognition component. But it uses the older A7 processor and has a lower-resolution rear camera.
Some of the details were published by Apple, reportedly by mistake, on Wednesday.
Apple’s last earnings release revealed that it had sold 13.3 million iPads in the April-to-June quarter. That marked a 9% fall on its tally for the same period in 2013, despite the fact the company saw sales of iPhones and Mac computers rise.
It also contrasted with an 11% rise in the number of tablet shipments across the market as a whole – with Lenovo and Asus making some of the biggest gains – according to a data from IDC.
The market research firm said that the iPad remained the bestselling tablet brand, but that its market share had dropped over the year from 33% to 26.9%.
Cannibalised sales?
One expert suggested that the recent launch of the 5.5in (14cm)-screened iPhone 6 Plus, which shares most of the new iPads’ features, could further temper demand.
“Given that Apple’s launched larger iPhones, it needs to find a market that the iPad Mini fits into,” said Jitesh Ubrani from IDC.
“It was a response to the market as a whole moving to smaller tablets. And now that phablets are growing in not just screen size but also in market size, unless Apple carves out a special place for it, we expect sales of the Mini in particular to be cannibalised quite a bit.”
Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook has told investors he still believes that the tablet market will eventually surpass that of PCs, and has pointed to a recent deal with IBM – involving the two firms co-developing business-centric apps – as a way to get iPad sales on “a faster trajectory”.
Mr Ubrani agreed that targeting businesses had huge potential, but warned that sales to consumers would remain a challenge.
“People who have the old iPad 2 or more recent versions are still happy with these devices – they are still functioning perfectly fine,” he said.
“There’s really no reason to upgrade.”
Other new features of the iPad Air 2 include an eight megapixel rear camera that can now capture slow-mo videos at 120 frames per second. The front camera has also been upgraded to allow in more light and take a rapid succession of selfies.
Credit: BBC