75% of Early iPad Purchasers Already Own an iPad, Early-Adopter Upgrade Cycle Around 23 Months

[CausticPuppy]

Don't think this bodes well for future sales of iPad if the majority are repeat buyers. Apple needs new buyers to make this product cycle a success.

Note that this is only early purchasers-- the people that buy on day 1.

 

[zclay123]

In other words, the very very early adopters are more likely to be fanboys, who buy everything Apple makes and thus already had iPads.

This isn't new, but it's nice to have proof.

Why does everybody get a fanboy and a satisfied customer all mixed up? A fanboy isn't someone who buys every new product a company buys. And that's why the world is so messed up.

People don't know the difference between those things.

 

[Teste]

A fanboy isn't someone who buys every new product a company buys. And that's why the world is so messed up.

People don't know the difference between those things.

Arguably, a fanboy doesn't know the difference between those things. People more often than not fail to realize their own character flaws, and instead assume theirs is the proper and only path. And that, well, is why the world is so messed up.

 

[jca666us]

Touch ID didn't make the cut because of yield issues.

The ipad air is still amazing even without it.

If Steve were still around, I believe we might have gotten one model of the air with touch ID - because of the yield issues.

Lets just take a step back here because I tell ya; I'm a full blown Apple fanboi but even I'm not drinking the coolAid this time around!

We all know about touchID, we all know it fits perfectly in the home button, has support in the A7 on board die. There is ABSOLUTLEY NO REASON this could not have been incorporated in the air this time around.

I know everyone says it, and frankly I'm tired of hearing it but in this case i truly beleive if Steve had been around he would have insisted that the next version of the iPad would have had touchID alongside the 5s.

Apple, you can stuff your iPad air sales until you predictably release the NEXT version like you should have this time around with TouchID included!

I'm afraid this stinks of 'dragging things out' and I absolutley hate to say it but after 15 years of Apple ownership I'm afraid it's now impossible to ignore

"the rot is in! "

The suits and shareholders have taken overriding control and this ***** gonna get worse!

 

[Altis]

Why does everybody get a fanboy and a satisfied customer all mixed up? A fanboy isn't someone who buys every new product a company buys. And that's why the world is so messed up.

People don't know the difference between those things.

If a customer is so satisfied, maybe they don't have to run out day 1 to replace their device.

Fanboys have always been notorious for buying devices launch day because they don't care about reviews, potential build issues, or even whether or not the device improves their experience over the current one they have. Fanboys just want it because it's the latest from the company they adore. Often, fanboys will think that other people actually will notice and care about the devices they have (such as a beige iPhone).

Satisfied customers might be satisfied with their devices a little longer, as there is no immediate need to run out and update it. They should be, by definition, fairly satisfied with the device they have. They will upgrade when they feel it's worthwhile.

The world is messed up for far more complicated reasons than anything to do with iPads. Although, it could be said that upgrading a device year after year is unhealthy consumerism, but whatever makes people happy, I say.

 

[krravi]

The iPad Air looks great. But for the price? MBA 11" is my choice.

 

[Primejimbo]

This is my 1st iPad. I never got one because I didn't see a need for it and I have a MacBook also. Now my MacBook is slowly showing its age and I don't need an actual computer anymore with the set up I have at home.

My wife has the iPad 2 and I can't believe how much free magazines I can get too (Macworld, motortrend, and others). I'm pretty excited now about it and I probably don't need a computer anymore.

 

[mabhatter]

I love my iPad 2. But none of the iPads after it have been worthy enough for me to upgrade to.

With the iPad 2 still supported this year? I think Apple is gonna be going uphill on sales. ZLAST year, Apple underplayed the iPad "4" because they didn't want to splt their market from iPad 2 levels of performance. I think THIS year Apple is going to have to push high-performing games and other software for the A7 seroes devices that the older A5 series devices cannot run. They also should be getting out there in the accessories market (music making, toys, other devices) and push HARD for LIGHTENING capable upgrades rather than using Dock adapters...
It doesn't feel like Apple's pushing its ecosystem hard enough. thunderbolt devices arent seeing the market, lightening devices aren't being showcased by Apple... What are they doing to make more money??

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Sure they'll make a quick buck selling toys. But everything is getting dumber. We are finally in viewing distance of Apple being no different than Sony (or any other tech company). Apple is quickly running out of things that distinguishes itself as a company. The question is no longer "when will apple get back on track?" but instead "who will take their place?"

That's the BIGGEST problem when you are "king of the hill".. How to make the hill taller! On the last ten years Apple basically built its OWN HILL because Microsoft and all the PC makers wouldn't let it play... But now Apple's hill is the biggest around and how do you keep it going?

Microsoft has found itself the king of a hill nobody wants to climb anymore. They make metric crap tons of money, but nobody wants to COMPETE for their hill. I think Apple faces the same issue.., people gotta keep coming to your hill or somebody like Android is going to get a bigger hill just from idle traffic.

 

[coolspot18]

Don't think this bodes well for future sales of iPad if the majority are repeat buyers. Apple needs new buyers to make this product cycle a success.

Unfortunately that won't be the case until Apple reduces the price or Apple introduces some amazing new feature. Competition in the tablet space is very intense.

 

[CKA]

At some point, people have confused the word fanboy with satisfied customers.

I think if those early adaptors are really some crazy fans, they will have the life-cycle like 12 months, not 25 months. I am still using iPad 3 for my boy and iPad (1st gen) and looking to upgrade to Air as well... (I have a Motorola Xoom much earlier before but then give up and go back to my 1st gen iPad, can only say the apps on Android tablets are terrible)

For iPhone, yes. I upgrade that every year, as I can sell my old one in good price, so the upgrade cost is relative low. People do surveys before and the yearly upgrade cost for Apple iPhone is like 50-70% of Samsung as the 2nd hand market for Android handsets are .....

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With the iPad 2 still supported this year? I think Apple is gonna be going uphill on sales. ZLAST year, Apple underplayed the iPad "4" because they didn't want to splt their market from iPad 2 levels of performance. I think THIS year Apple is going to have to push high-performing games and other software for the A7 seroes devices that the older A5 series devices cannot run. They also should be getting out there in the accessories market (music making, toys, other devices) and push HARD for LIGHTENING capable upgrades rather than using Dock adapters...
It doesn't feel like Apple's pushing its ecosystem hard enough. thunderbolt devices arent seeing the market, lightening devices aren't being showcased by Apple... What are they doing to make more money??

----------



That's the BIGGEST problem when you are "king of the hill".. How to make the hill taller! On the last ten years Apple basically built its OWN HILL because Microsoft and all the PC makers wouldn't let it play... But now Apple's hill is the biggest around and how do you keep it going?

Microsoft has found itself the king of a hill nobody wants to climb anymore. They make metric crap tons of money, but nobody wants to COMPETE for their hill. I think Apple faces the same issue.., people gotta keep coming to your hill or somebody like Android is going to get a bigger hill just from idle traffic.

Actually I wondered why Apple not also make some steps on the gaming side via Apple TV. Say Have some API ready on Apple TV and let developers design some games on that with iPod/iPhone/iPad as controller. That may be good for all of us with some reasonable price game playing on our favorite TVs

 

[Giuly]

Arguably, a fanboy doesn't know the difference between those things. People more often than not fail to realize their own character flaws, and instead assume theirs is the proper and only path. And that, well, is why the world is so messed up.

What does this have to do with the fact that if you're standing in line since 2AM for an iPad, chances are 75% that you already own one?

If you're a first-time iPad buyer and try to walk into an Apple Store on launch day, you'll be coming back another day.

 

[CPx]

I am part of the 25%.

 

[dragje]

In other words, the very very early adopters are more likely to be fanboys, who buy everything Apple makes and thus already had iPads.

This isn't new, but it's nice to have proof.

Proof in the eye of the beholder you mean.

I've bought the iPad Air, two of them. Both for myself and my girlfriend. I work on both Apple and Microsoft for work. I like both systems each to their own advantage. But when on the road I go with Apple products mainly because of the Apple "ecosystem". Does that makes me an Apple fanboy? The iPhone 5 which my girlfriend also uses is still working perfect. If I where a Apple fanboy I should have bought the iPhone 5s but I didn't.

So proof? Meh. I just replacing Apple products with new ones when it's a real improvement. We had two iPad3's and we had the opportunity to sell them for a reasonable prize so we had to buy one new iPad Air with my own money. That's basically it. With iCloud it was a matter of seconds before we had all our settings and apps back and running, only proximally 2 to 3 times faster. That's it....

 

[bbeagle]

Note that this is only early purchasers-- the people that buy on day 1.

Right, and also what does the statistic mean at all except for people making up their own assumptions?

I bet 99% of coca cola buyers already were coca cola buyers in the past. Is coca cola doomed?

 

[diddl14]

I wonder what happened back in the days of "computers", where I bought a new computer and put the same software on it? I must be remembering that wrong... I probably just re-purchased the software.

Maybe back then there wasn't any software... ?

That must be it.

Developers have direct access to a wider audience of users than EVER before in computing history. Before embarking on a development endeavor for the purpose of making money, you should understand your potential audience, projected sales, and plan for monetizing future releases (Office, anyone)? Developers did just fine on the Mac platform when Apple was selling a couple hundred thousand units a quarter and all they could do was advertise in magazines.

To think that this will have any impact on a developer in the iOS space is silly.

You remember well only the past doesn't compare well to the current iOS AppStore situation. Software used to have a monetary value, as did upgrades. That's over. I'm with you on the whole business planning argument but not sure how that relates to my original comment. My only point was that hardware upgrades are clearly good for Apple but not something developers immediately benefit from. Developers benefit from Apple devices becoming more widespread as new customers tend to spend more than existing ones. Would you agree to that?

 

[jdiamond]

Re: I love my iPad 2 and no others are worthy...

If a retina display isn't enough to make you consider upgrading, you'll likely be rocking that iPad 2 forever. In a device like a tablet where the display is 90% of the experience, I can't imagine what else you would want Apple to focus on.

If the screen is 90% of the experience, I'd say weight is the other 90% of the experience - it's a device you tend to use holding in your hands, and I've found even a half pound takes some acclimation to avoid cramping. Then comes battery life, and having the power you need to run the apps you want.

To be completely honest, unless you need to view full screen text or detailed material, the retina is not as big a deal as you'd imagine - to me, that explains all the iPad 2 users most. And for those of us that DO NEED full screen viewing with fine text and detail, we're the ones calling out desperately for a 13" iPad. As long as it's less than one pound.

 

[thefourthpope]

I'll be joining the "already own" club as soon as the retina mini is available. I'm a little outside the 23-month window, though. My only iPad is the 2.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

I ordered the white 64 gig about 2 minutes after the store was back up. I already own a first gen iPad which this new one will replace.

 

[John.B]

Whilst one plausible way of looking at it is (neglecting the tiny sample size) that the market's becoming saturated, I'd offer that this revision is one of the more compelling ones. I liked the iPad 3, with that magnificent display, but didn't feel compelled to migrate at that time.

Similarly, the iPad 4 was a nice bump, but still, my iPad 1 worked fine.

Here, though, I saw an iPad that was evidently the future baseline - 64-bit architecture's where the next round of devices to be dropped will be found - and one third lighter. Add in the overall CPU throughput, GPU improvements, and returning to current iOS offerings - it wasn't a difficult sell. ^_^

So, another factor might well be that this revision finally lures out the reluctant upgraders.

This. The 80% speed boost is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[xofruitcake]

I know everyone says it, and frankly I'm tired of hearing it but in this case i truly beleive if Steve had been around he would have insisted that the next version of the iPad would have had touchID alongside the 5s.

Heh heh, I didn't know that you know Steve personally and so well about his thinking )

The truth is that you don't know him and you have absolutely no idea what he would have thought in the situation. Do you know how offensive it is to put words in a dead man's mouth because he can defend themselves and correct you?

 

[Ugg]

Don't think this bodes well for future sales of iPad if the majority are repeat buyers. Apple needs new buyers to make this product cycle a success.

Once again, these numbers only apply to early adopters. As such, they probably can't be applied to purchasers who buy two months from now.

 

[Blue Fox]

I sold my iPad 4th gen a week before the announcement of the iPad Air. Sold it for $100 less than I paid for it. $100 to upgrade to a 32GB iPad Air was worth it. The weight savings alone are incredible, and the extra power is nice. Loving it.

 

[mrmarts]

I was going to pick up a ,Mini retina in the latter, but went with the Air instead. When i saw it on display at my local Apple store it beared a striking resemblance to the mini, so much so that thought it was Mini. It was until i glanced around and the saw the minis in the corner of my eye. If Apple continues shaving off the bazel this thing can get small over the coming years. I also would like to add it was a good upgrade from a iPad 3 with 32gb to a 128gb air, I will now wait till the next redesign much like my iPhone before upgrading again.

 

[ColdShadow]

where are live, major retailers are offering 8% off sale for iPad Air.that makes it very very close to the price of iPad Mini 2.

I think iPad mini 2 will outsell iPad Air and become the most successful iPad ever.
Mini 2 is the superior form factor and a better size for 90% of users.

 

[Rettun1]

Because this is the one everybody was waiting for. Way thinner, way lighter, way faster.

It's like iPad 2 all over again :')

Also if people already had one, a lot of them probably sold it right before the announcement. Meaning a lot of people got 'new' iPads and didn't get them thru Apple.