People have expected (or at least, wished for!) an Apple tablet for decades, just as for an Apple phone.
Besides all the fan concepts over the years...
Back in 1983, after Hartmut Esslingner (he long predates Jon Ive) designed the Apple IIc and defined the Apple product look for years to come, he also came up with an Apple tablet concept model, codenamed Bashful, here shown docked: