Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Apple and IBM team up to deliver 5 million iPads to Japanese seniors

Williams Pelegrin
By

iPad Mini 3
Giuliano Correia/Digital Trends
At an event in New York City, Apple CEO Tim Cook, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, and Japan Post CEO Taizo announced all three companies will come together to launch a new initiative that will give 5 million iPads to Japanese seniors over the next five years, reports TechCrunch.

The iPads will be pre-loaded with software that is geared towards the elderly. Among the included apps are ones that will remind and alert the elderly about medications, exercise, and diet, as well as other apps that help access community events, grocery shopping, and job matching. Japan Post, a company that handles postal, banking, and insurance services in the country, will be in charge of distributing the iPads through its Watch Over service.

Recommended Videos

The company hopes to reach 4 to 5 million customers by 2020.

Related

The main driver behind this initiative is Japan’s rapidly increasing aging population. Currently, 25 percent of Japan’s population, or 33 million people, are senior citizens. The percentage is expected to rise to 40 percent in the next 40 years. With the new iPad initiative, Cook said, senior citizens’ quality of life should see an increase.

“We will dramatically improve the lives of millions of people,” said Cook during the event. “Sooner or later, almost every country on the face of the Earth will encounter this same issue.”

Even though the pilot program will start in Japan in the second half of 2015, Cook said the possibility for it to extend into other countries, such as the United States does exist. In order for that to happen, however, Apple and IBM will need to bring together a collection of regional companies.

The initiative itself is a promising and optimistic one, but it’s no surprise that Apple and IBM are the ones to spearhead it. The two companies entered a business agreement last July that will help Apple enter the enterprise sector, while also optimizing 100 iOS apps for business use and offering enhanced cloud computing services. With Apple recently reporting a drop in iPad sales, this initiative is also sure to help the company’s bottom line.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Williams Pelegrin
Williams Pelegrin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…
I’m worried about Apple’s new iPads
The back of the iPad Air 5.

Apple typically releases a new version of its products every year, but 2023 was different. That was the first year Apple did not release any new updates across the entire iPad lineup.

We’re now a couple of months into 2024, and it’s rumored that Apple could be dropping new iPad models this month — as early as this coming Monday or Tuesday. After all, a new M3 MacBook Air just came out, so naturally, we should expect new iPads after not having any update last year.

Read more
Apple may announce new iPads next month. Here’s everything we expect
The yellow iPad (2022) lying face-down on a green bush.

When it comes to Apple, we expect a new product refresh annually at this point, including for the iPad. However, that didn't happen in 2023. In fact, 2023 was the first year that Apple didn't release a new iPad model at all, which means we haven’t had new iPad releases since 2022.

It’s unclear why we didn’t see any new iPads last year. However, that should also be an indicator that we can expect some big changes for the next generation of iPad models, which are rumored to come out this year. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has even said that we could see new iPads as early as March.

Read more
Apple’s new iPad Pro may not be as expensive as we feared
Two iPad Pro tablets next to each other against a black background. Both have Apple's Magic Keyboard case.

Apple didn’t release a new iPad last year, which means 2024 should be a banner year for the popular tablets. And now there's been word that the upcoming iPad Pro lineup, likely to include OLED for the first time, might not cost as much as we once feared.

According to a new report from DigiTimes, the upcoming iPad Pro models won’t see a dramatic price hike, as was suggested in December. Previously, it was reported that the 2024 11-inch iPad Pro would cost at least $1,500, while the next 12.9-inch model (which will have a larger 13-inch display) would start at $1,800. The current models start at $799 and $1,099, respectively.

Read more