Apple apologises for iPad ad criticised as ‘destruction of the human experience’

Advert featuring huge hydraulic press crushing cultural objects struck wrong note with many

Apple has apologised after an online backlash to an advert for its new iPad that features an industrial-sized hydraulic press crushing a collection of creative objects including musical instruments and books.

The ad, launched by Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, on Tuesday, shows the machine squashing various items - ranging from a piano and a metronome to tins of paint and an arcade game - before a single iPad Pro then appears in their place. A voiceover then states: The most powerful iPad ever is also the thinnest."