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BEIJING. — At an event in San Francisco today, Apple is expected to unveil a fifth-generation iPad as well as a follow-up version of the iPad mini it released a year ago. The new iPads come at a critical moment. Samsung Electronics Co. is flooding the market with an array of screen sizes and options. Amazon.com Inc. is undercutting Apple on price. Its new Kindle Fire tablets, with faster processors and improved screens, start from $229. Microsoft Corp. aims to use its corporate connections to tap a new segment of the tablet market.

Google Inc. and Sony Corp. are pushing ahead with new tablets of their own, while Asustek Computer Inc. and Lenovo Group Ltd. are gaining market share in parts of Asia where prices matter more.

Research firm Gartner expects Apple’s share of the tablet market to fall below 50% this year, from 65% in 2011. Competitors are starting to squeeze the Mini with larger-screen smart phones. Meanwhile, declining tablet prices further pressure Apple to engage in the type of price competition that it has avoided historically.

According to the Wall Street Journal, tablets are now Apple’s second-biggest source of revenue after the iPhone, bringing in nearly $26 billion in the nine months ended June 30. — Xinhuanet.