According to a person familiar with the company, Apple will announce new iPads at a media event on October 16. Apple will showcase a new 9.7-inch iPad as well as an iPad mini. IPad sales are really important for Apple, to allow the company to reduce its reliance on the iPhone. Right now, iPhone sales make up about half of the company’s revenue and most of its profits. Right now Apple is suffering from decreased sales of iPads as the market for tablets have matured. Lower-priced models are becoming more popular and people don’t upgrade them as often as smartphones. iPad sales, as a result, have gone down for two consecutive quarters. Apple earned $32 billion in revenue in its last fiscal year from iPad sales.
Apple will also add a gold-colored iPad with this release. The company hasn’t put out a new iPad since October 2013, and people have been moving to iPhones with larger screens like the iPhone 6 Plus with its 5.5-inch screen.
Some rumors have stated that Apple will release a 12.9-inch iPad next year.