New Apple iPads are in development for a potential spring release, according to a leaked investor note. A new version of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a 10- or 10.5-inch model, and a less expensive 9.7-inch are all expected to be introduced by Apple sometime soon.
https://twitter.com/macworld/status/841676160618618881
The new iPads are an effort by Apple to slow the iPads declining sales. People don't buy as many iPads as iPhones, since consumers have fewer reasons to update their already purchased iPads as often.
Many consumers are still hanging on to 2010-2012 era iPads. Users aren't feeling there are enough new features or capabilities to upgrade their devices as much. Apple is especially hoping to keep the recent upward trend in its revenue, boosted by an increase in iPhone sales and Apple services.
Most Apple devices are expected to get an OS update, including macOS 10.13, watchOS 4, tvOS 11, and iPhone and iPad OS 11. Most of the new Apple releases will arrive in the fall, except for the expected spring iPad refresh.
The new Kaby Lake processors offer an update of mainly video and graphics over the previous Skylake chips. The increase in performance may not be enough to warrant buying a computer just for the new chipset if you've purchased one fairly recently. But if you do end up with Kaby Lake, you'll reportedly find viewing video to be a smoother, much less power intensive task.
As more options emerge on the market, Apple has been less and less dominant. But if the upcoming iPads can innovate and provide a new experience, just like the original iPads did, than Apple would have given those folks still holding onto those first few iPads a reason to let them go and splurge on Apple's latest.