Apple has sold more than 500 million iPads in 10 years, CEO says

The iPad was first launched in January 2010

Apple has sold more than 500 million iPads since launching the product in 2010, CEO Tim Cook has said.

Speaking during a virtual product launch event Cook hailed the iPad as "one of the most successful consumer electronics products ever".

"We're inspired to see how iPad's impact has been felt across the world," he said.

He said that over half of iPad buyers currently are buying their first iPad, claiming the product has been ranked first for customer satisfaction since launching a decade ago.

Apple's late founder Steve Jobs first revealed the iPad in January 2010, who positioned it as a better alternative to low-end notebooks.

It has since gone through various iterations, with Cook yesterday revealing the eighth generation of the basic model and the fourth generation of the iPad Air.

Apple stopped reporting the number of devices it ships at the end of its 2018 financial year, instead just revealing revenue for each product category.

In its final quarter of that year it reported shipping just under 10 million iPads, in contrast to 47 million iPhones.