Apple, looking to fight back against pesky tablet rivals, is expected to unveil a lighter, slimmer and faster iPad 5 on Tuesday — just in time for the crucial holiday retail season.
The new iPads may even come with a new cover with built-in keyboard, some tech watchers have reported.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has a lot riding on Tuesday’s announcement.
The new iPad comes amid a slump in profits over the past two quarters, and just weeks after the Cupertino, Calif., company rolled out a refreshed line of iPhones.
The iPhone and iPad make up a majority of Apple’s profits, but the company’s once- dominant stake of the tablet sector has shrunk to 32 percent in the second quarter of 2013 from 60 percent a year earlier, according to data tracker IDC.
The new iPad 5 is expected to be lighter, faster and slimmer than the iPad 4.
Analysts and other watchers say they expect the new gadget to be as much as 30 percent lighter and as much as 15 percent thinner than the current version, while only giving up 10 percent in width.
Talk of a new keyboard cover seems less certain, but rumors of it were stoked in part by Apple’s own invitation to Tuesday’s event, which teased: “We still have a lot to cover.”
While some watchers have criticized the changes as largely cosmetic, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White called it “the most important iPad upgrade since the original iPad” three and a half years ago.
Also on Tuesday, Finnish tech giant Nokia is expected to announce its first tablet ever at an event in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s second-generation Surface tablet, which already comes with a keyboard cover, will be available for sale starting Tuesday.
Apple shares closed on Monday up 2.5 percent to $521.36. They’re still well below their high of over $690 a share hit in September 2012.