When the first iPad launched in 2010, it quickly changed the way we use mobile devices. With the release of the iPod and iPhone, Apple became synonymous with quality and simple, yet intuitive design. With its Mac line of PCs and laptops, Apple also became synonymous with high price tags. In 2010, the iPad's launch price of $499 was lower than many had expected.

Netflix announced an app focused on streaming content the day before the iPad was released. The Netflix app didn't arrive on the iPhone until later that year, and wasn't available on the Android platform until more than a year after the iPad was released.

Netflix’s support for the iPad was evidence that the industry wouldn’t just port apps to the iPad, but would design them specifically for the larger device. It’s an advantage that has kept the iPad at the top.

In late 2010, Apple released iOS 4.2. 1, which added significant features to the iPad that had been introduced on the iPhone earlier that summer. Among these features was limited multitasking, which allowed music to play in the background while another app was used, in addition to other tasks, and the ability to create folders.