iPad Mini Sales Overtaking iPad Sales Faster Than Apple Expected

No Surprises Here

I like my full iPad and my iPod Touch, but there is so much to love about the iPad Mini that the popularity is no surprise.

Last year, I bought my sister a 7 inch Android tablet, which she is happy with. In August I bought my nephew an iPad 2, which my sister thinks is heavy, but so much better in every way (except size) than her Android.

In December I bought my mother an iPad mini, which my sister LOVES! She took one look at it, held it, and declared it the most adorable thing she had ever seen! I know people make fun of the 7 inch versus 7.9 inch, but the form factor of the iPad Mini make it so much different to working with the 7 inch widescreen Android tablet.

Apple was right, the 7 inch widescreen form factor does not work for things like web pages and reading, but strangely the Mini works great. Apple was right to release the bigger iPad first and not have people feeling the pain of a 7 inch compromise while they figured out the technology and built the brand, and it was pure Apple marketing that they downplayed the 7 inch market.

No way.!!... I don't believe it

but, but,, its not a Retina, (yet)

I guess people don't go for that anymore huh...

People must have gone for that "Finger-print resistant coasting" scheme...... makes any product sell better

The new Bigger, Smaller iPod Touch.

It will be a tougher goal post to meet in the future.

b11051973 said:

I love the mini. I much prefer the size to the 9.7" iPads.

The one thing to remember is they may be eating into sales of the 9.7", but the $200 Nexus 7 was probably eating into them too. So, coming out with something a little cheaper is better than completely losing out to other tablets.

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Steve Jobs

“If you don’t cannibalize yourself, someone else will”

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TechnoLawyer said:

I don't think it's the price but rather the weight and size. It's a dream for thumb typing and using lying down, and takes up less space on a desk when used for reference materials, as a calculator, etc. The larger iPad will make a comeback when it weighs half a pound. By then the mini will weigh as much as the iPhone 5. The larger iPad is better for touch typists, which I'm not. I hope that somewhere in the depths of Apple someone is working on a better input technology for iOS than the keyboard (I don't think voice is the answer).

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And to read a book on it... Much more comfortable

When a retina mini comes along I'll be upgrading from my 1st Gen iPad, which is severely underpowered and always crashes, makes me not want a first gen of anything ever again.

Apple knew this was coming, so now they create product differentiation through hardware & software.

Actually, they already started their way on stalling the cannibalization of sales with some stealth marketing in the beginning of last month by differentiating the iPad to have a 128GB version... soooo, wouldn't be surprised if the iPad Mini stays at 64GB for quite some time.

I am sure there will be some other features coming in the new iPad that you won't see in the new iPad Mini.

It's all about product differentiation now... Apple knows best.

Just wait ladies n' gentlemen...

I was in the "why would anyone want a smaller ipad" group. I had the iPad 3, but my girlfriend's parents bought me an iPad mini about 6 months after I had been using my regular sized iPad. While I still use my iPad at home because of the larger screen, I have yet to take my regular size iPad to work anymore. I work in a hospital and the iPad mini just fits soo perfectly in my white coat.
While I can understand being upset about them not starting it off with the retina display, for the apps I use at work, I really can't tell the difference. Although I would never have purchased the iPad mini after having had the iPad since I didn't see the point, I'm definitely glad I have it and it has become my preferred mobile device for work. Nothing like being disappointed like this

What cracks me up is that people want their phones bigger and their tablets smaller. The Mini doesn't interest me at all. I think the form factor of the 9.7" iPad is perfect. Just keeping making it thinner, lighter, and faster and I'm good.

People who short AAPL must be happy to hear this kind of market research.

Dead on arrival!

In my opinion it is selling great because it is cheaper and a good entry level device for people who use apple products to get their children...

look at the demographics

based on a quick survey around my social groups .. I see the ipad mini selling much more for women and children since:

a) it fits in a purse easier
b) it caters better to small hands

what may be interesting, particularly as the price drops when the next generation minis come on the market, is how much it will begin to cannibalize ipod touch sales (ipod touch seems to have consumed most of the mobile gaming markets for kids .. take a quick survey of kids in quasi affluent regions to see the impact)

for kids i can buy 2 ipad mini's for $660 for 32GB of storage total

compared to $599 for a 32GB ipad they will fight over

SONiC5 said:

When a retina mini comes along I'll be upgrading from my 1st Gen iPad, which is severely underpowered and always crashes, makes me not want a first gen of anything ever again.

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Don't expect any hugh differences.
We recently went from the iPad1(2 of them) to the iPad4.
The display difference is negligible and it still crashes with simple web browsing when you have more then 2 tabs open.
The retina display is a gimmick and only beneficial if you have the screen 4 inches from your face.

Is it me or are there a lot of limp wristed weak people who think the iPad is heavy.
We use them a lot and I've never heard anyone in our home say their hand/wrist hurts or fatigued from holding it.

I find the iPad mini to be the perfect balance between weight and size.
The only thing I wish they change on it for the next iteration is more RAM, and maybe a faster processor, it doesn't even need a retina screen.

Chaszmyr said:

Doesn't surprise me at all. I've had an iPad since it came out, and always said that a smaller version would be much more suitable for some tasks. Ever since the iPad mini came out, I no longer use my big iPad for anything other than watching video, even though the mini feels underpowered and I wish it had a retina display

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same here, ipad is just to big and heavy to hold comfortably for more than a few minute. i got ipad mini just for this and loving it. I wish it had retina only. Performance is always nice but i dont care as much. If they update with retina i buy it in a second

Bezetos said:

Tee-hee. I wonder what people who said "iPad Mini won't sell, Steve Jobs said so" are thinking now

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For all of Steve Job's supposed acumen at guessing (correctly) coming trends for technology, he was also wrong a fair bit of the time too.

Many people believe that Apple should not have dropped the Newton. Apple should not have signed the agreement with AT&T. The constant changing of the lower members of the iPod family. Letting the App Store censor apps with no clear cut rules. Killing MobileMe...

But one thing that he did that was genius, is in structuring Apple so that it's a 'we're in this together' mind set so that innovative products don't get axed because it might infringe upon another divisions turf. One just has to wonder how many earthshaking products, and how much incredible innovation was stillborn because of internecine turf wars at some of the largest players.

Imagine Sony, not hobbled by the competition of the WalkMan division, having come out with a killer MP3 player. Imagine Sony, not hobbled by their record division, coming out with a killer music distribution business like iTunes, way before iTunes...

So, yes, Steve was gifted, but that gift wasn't totally 100% 100% of the time... But still, I fault the execution of the iPad Mini, not just the idea of it. Plus I am consciously grabbing my full size iPad more often now. One thing that the Mini has going for it is that it is some how a more 'personal' device... I will say that if the next Mini has a compelling feature set, I will upgrade...

Game changer for me

As an education the mini has been a game changer. It has leveled the playing field for schools with little funding to create media and animation classes. I teach at a prominent high school in Southern Cal. We have alot of great opportunities due the the affluent area the school is in. Many schools cant afford big computers rooms and all the latest software and cameras. But for $329 then can get in the game. For a few dollars more they can get great editing apps, photo apps, and camera apps. Now the kids can create.

I am working on a Kickstarter to be launched soon for a support case for the mini. Here is a link to my blog if this interests you. Cheers, Dave

http://iographer.com/blog/why-the-mini/

Can we admit that Apple got the size wrong the first time?

Heh, just kidding. I love my iPad 3, but I do wish it was thinner and especially lighter.

Lying with Statistics

This is just another example. No mention that the iPad mini is CHEAPER than the iPad. Now people can get an Apple branded tablet for less than the iPad, of course it's going to sell more.

I'm not saying the size isn't a factor, but the thing is cheaper, meaning, it's accessible to a broader group of consumers.

On a total side note- I like the Mini. Every time I look at it, I like that it's light and easy to fit in a bag or some large jacket pockets, but the screen is still small. BUT I still go back to my iPad, and its screen size. It's just more useful, this is not including the fact that the retina display makes it a no-brainer, because soon enough the mini will have retina and be even more awesome. Depending on the resolution, it might make the mini more comparable, but for now, the screen size just doesn't provide the useful space. And let's not forget the iPad will soon be smaller, thinner, and lighter.

The weight and large bezel are the only drawbacks of the iPad. (well.. and the sharp edges...)

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bawbac said:

Don't expect any hugh differences.
We recently went from the iPad1(2 of them) to the iPad4.
The display difference is negligible and it still crashes with simple web browsing when you have more then 2 tabs open.
The retina display is a gimmick and only beneficial if you have the screen 4 inches from your face.

Is it me or are there a lot of limp wristed weak people who think the iPad is heavy.
We use them a lot and I've never heard anyone in our home say their hand/wrist hurts or fatigued from holding it.

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If the display difference is negligible to you, you have bad eyes. I went from the 2 to the 3 which I NEVER DO (go from one version to the next) simply because of the retina display. It's leaps and bounds better. Basically going from a pixelated screen to no pixels.

Not sure what you're looking at, but my 3 doesn't crash much, and only when it's got all tabs open.

Where are the sales figures from Apple that support this claim? Has there been a significant drop in the ASP of the iPad?

I understand why kids are going crazy for the mini, but if all you need is a good e-Reader why not get a Kindle Fire for $99?

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pcharles said:

In December I bought my mother an iPad mini, which my sister LOVES! She took one look at it, held it, and declared it the most adorable thing she had ever seen!

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Well this is genius marketing. Apple has figured out how to make "adorable" products for women and children. It's no wonder that men are more evenly split between iOS/Android on mobile and more heavily lean towards Windows for PCs.

Rogifan said:

Where are the sales figures from Apple that support this claim? Has there been a significant drop in the ASP of the iPad?

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Yes Apple reports the asp for each product line each quarter. And it was a really big drop for ipad line after Apple introduce the mini.