That's what CEO Tim Cook announced Wednesday, unveiling a new version of the tablet called iPad Pro with a 12.9-inch screen that's designed to be used with two hands, and able to run two apps side by side. The goal is to prove the iPad can be more than just a device for surfing the Web and watching videos.

Among the new technologies Apple introduced were a new thin "smart keyboard" that also acts as a cover, which Apple said is covered with a special fabric. But Apple will also offer a new device called the Apple Pencil, a stylus designed to be used as a more precise way of interacting with the device.

"In just five years, iPad has transformed the way we create, the way we learn and the way we work," Cook said during an event in San Francisco. The iPad Pro, he said, "is the most capable iPad we've ever created."

It's all part of Apple's latest effort to expand interest in the slumping tablet industry. For Apple, iPad sales, which accounts for about 10 percent of the company's sales, have been the one weak spot in its product line. Apple sold 10.9 million iPads in the three months ended in June. While seemingly high, and representing nearly a quarter of all tablets sold around the world, sales had still 18 percent from the same time last year; that was the sixth consecutive decline for the iPad line.

Analysts say it's not just the iPad though. Consumers have been holding on to their tablets for longer and opting to buy bigger-screen iPhones and Mac computers instead. Apple also hasn't spurred demand either by offering any big jumps in technology or a radically new take on its tablets in years. Updates to the iPad -- include a mini version first introduced in 2012 -- have seen a bump up in technical specs like processor speed, screen resolution and added memory but not much else in the way of game-changing innovation.

That's what happened last year, when Apple introduced the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3. Sales ultimately didn't beat expectations, with analysts arguing that the incremental changes weren't enough to attract buyers. The company, which has long claimed the iPad's weakness is a "speed bump," is counting on new initiatives like a partnership with IBM last year intended to increase iPad sales to business users.

That's why the iPad Pro might help jumpstart demand. The tech industry has increasingly beenembracing devices that convert between tablets and laptops, and Apple could benefit from offering a similar device.