New form factors for computers have changed the way we consume the web, and along the way we have left behind a trail of breadcrumbs in our user agents that we can now look back on to see this progression.
This week we'll focus on Apple's contribution to this space with the release of the iPad.
Here are some popular variations of the
iPad user agent across all versions.
-
Remember that time when Apple decided the tablets of the time sucked and we needed something more practical?
In January of 2010, Apple announced the 1st generation iPad, which was released in April of 2010.
Not only did this mark the birth of the iPad, but also the birth of a slimmer, more portable and stripped-down personal computing experience.
Here are some variations of the first generation iPad user agent.
-
In March 2011, Apple went on to improve in the first generation iPad.
The second generation iPad was announced March 2, 2011, and released on March 11, 2011.
With the second iPad came double the memory of the original device, from 256 MB to 512 MB.
Second generation iPads also introduced a 0.7 MP camera, added a gyroscope sensor to the device, and upgraded the iOS version 5.1.1 to 6.1.
Here are some second generation iPad user agents that we have seen over the years.
-
Almost exactly one year after the iPad 2, Apple announced the iPad 3.
The third generation iPad was announced March 7, 2012, and released on March 16, 2012.
Once again the new iPad 3 doubled the memory of the device, this time from 512 MB to 1 GB.
The display of the iPad 3 sported the new Retina Display technology that Apple has become known for.
Other upgrades included Bluetooth 4.0 (from version 2.1 on previous iPads), and major upgrades to the camera to bring it up to 5 megapixel and 1080p HD video recording.
Third generation iPad user agents began showing up, and we were listening.
-
In the interests of breaking tradition, Apple announced the iPad 4 only 8 months after the iPad 3's release.
On October 23, 2012 Apple announced the new iPad 4, which would be released to consumers on November 2, 2012.
While many criticized the iPad 4 of being too similar to the iPad 3, and accused Apple of releasing a new iPad only to combat the release of the Microsoft Surface RT, there were some areas that were upgraded.
The fourth generation iPad improved the front-facing camera from .3 megapixel to 1.2 megapixel, and changed the device's processor from a 1 GHz dual-core ARM processor to a 1.4 GHz dual-core Apple Swift processor.
Most importantly, the iPad 4 added a new storage size of 128 GB - all previous iPad versions were available with 3 storage sizes: 16, 32, or 64 GB.
iPad 4 user agents have been appearing ever since, and the rest is history.
-
In the same announcement as the iPad 4, Apple announced an iPad Mini as well.
As far as user agents go, the iPad Mini is a bit of a mystery.
Apple does not identify an iPad Mini separately from other iPads, so developers trying to target this model had to use other means to detect the devices' capabilities.
We hope this post is helpful and informative to you, and we enjoyed revisiting the history of the iPad user agent. Thanks for stopping by!
Our growing total of user agents is now at
1,021,791, with
20,089 bots included in the mix.