Apple iPad upgrade expected to roll out today

SAN FRANCISCO – Apple is expected to round out its lineup of gadgets for the holiday shopping season with today’s unveiling of its latest iPads.

The San Francisco showcase is likely to feature remodeled versions of Apple’s standard-sized iPad with a 10-inch display screen and the iPad Mini with a nearly 8-inch screen. Hewing to its usually tight-lipped ways, Apple Inc. hasn’t shared details about what’s on the agenda. The Cupertino, Calif., company merely sent out invitations that said, “We still have a lot to cover.”

Apple’s secrecy notwithstanding, glimpses of the revamped iPads have been showing up in videos posted on the Internet, including on websites that provided early – and accurate – peeks at the new iPhones Apple rolled out last month.

It will be a shock if Apple isn’t taking the wraps off new iPads today because it has been nearly a year since the previous generation came out. This would be the fifth generation of Apple’s tablet computer. The original iPad debuted in early 2010 and accelerated the consumer shift away from traditional laptop and desktop computers. Tablets, including rival devices inspired by the iPad, are now outselling laptops.

If the unauthorized previews of the new iPads are correct, this year’s standard-sized model is getting a more noticeable makeover than last year. It’s expected to be even thinner and lighter than its predecessor and designed more like the iPad Mini with slimmer sides and tighter curves on the back.