Apple Sells 12.3 Million iPads in Q4 2014, Sales Down for Third Quarter in a Row

[aneftp]

this is what happens when people actually have to pay full price for a device. the upgrade cycle is bound to be slower.

and still feels like "just" a bigger iphone. the bigger screen is not used to its full potential.

macbook air > ipad

I dunno. A phone is an essential device. I was wrong about iphone sales ranking with full price purchases especially when carriers give 0% financing for cell phones. I Thought $650-850 full price iPhones would drop iphone sales particularly in the USA but it hasn't.

Most of it has to do with people needing an iPhone (upgrade) regardless of full price or financing or subsidy price.

Tablets are not that essential.

 

[smulji]

Stop calling it a 'speed bump', Tim! The iPad Air was a bad design. Apple needs to admit it. I don't think market saturation is the whole story here. I personally returned an iPad Air because it didn't feel right - too light and thin, and plastic-like; it does not feel like a premium product.

I haven't got a chance to look at the iPad Air 2, yet. But I doubt it will be selling much better.

If you thought the iPad Air was too thin & light then you'll probably cut yourself holding the iPad Air 2. /s

 

[WilliamLondon]

Queue the entrance of all the armchair CEOs and Product Managers, you know the ones who would have made "totally different decisions" (despite their ideas not making *any* real world business sense).

Of course they're all full of ideas about how to turn things around, which is ironic, because if their ideas were indeed so great, I'd assume they'd be quite in demand by lots of companies (or even one company that consumes all their time, something like a major Fortune-ranked multi-national). How do they all find the time to offer such astute suggestions to companies that aren't their clients (or employers), and why are they not charging for their services?

Hmmmm.

Perhaps not so astute or prescient these ideas, but simply spectator criticisms delivered from the comfort and safety of the anonymous internets, where ideas don't have to be proven, they don't have work, no one cares about your lack of experience, and where the only skill one needs is hubris.

Too bad for Apple all these company saving decisions they'll need in the future are right here, dead before they even had a chance to live.

 

[TechGod]

Put in some STEREO sound... You know two speakers at either end. Hopefully iPad air 2 has more ram also.

The iPads do have stereo sound and yes the Air 2 most likely has 2GB RAM.

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this is what happens when people actually have to pay full price for a device. the upgrade cycle is bound to be slower.

and still feels like "just" a bigger iphone. the bigger screen is not used to its full potential.

macbook air > ipad

Clearly you haven't used an iPad.

I agree with the second part though.

 

[maclove4life]

new iPad: iSAD coming soon 1st quarter...

 

[xmichaelp]

I dunno. A phone is an essential device. I was wrong about iphone sales ranking with full price purchases especially when carriers give 0% financing for cell phones. I Thought $650-850 full price iPhones would drop iphone sales particularly in the USA but it hasn't.

Most of it has to do with people needing an iPhone (upgrade) regardless of full price or financing or subsidy price.

Tablets are not that essential.

How many people actually buy them full price though? It has to be less than 1 percent.

----------

Queue the entrance of all the armchair CEOs and Product Managers, you know the ones who would have made "totally different decisions" (despite their ideas not making *any* real world business sense).

Of course they're all full of ideas about how to turn things around, which is ironic, because if their ideas were indeed so great, I'd assume they'd be quite in demand by lots of companies (or even one company that consumes all their time, something like a major Fortune-ranked multi-national). How do they all find the time to offer such astute suggestions to companies that aren't their clients (or employers), and why are they not charging for their services?

Hmmmm.

Perhaps not so astute or prescient these ideas, but simply spectator criticisms delivered from the comfort and safety of the anonymous internets, where ideas don't have to be proven, they don't have work, no one cares about your lack of experience, and where the only skill one needs is hubris.

Too bad for Apple all these company saving decisions they'll need in the future are right here, dead before they even had a chance to live.

Cute rant. But something like giving the iPad Mini a worthwhile upgrade doesn't take a genius.

 

[WilliamLondon]

Cute rant. But something like giving the iPad Mini a worthwhile upgrade doesn't take a genius.

Thanks for proving my point.

 

[cfedu]

I wonder if the crippled mini was a way to combat this, and drive up iPad Air 2 sales.

Bingo

 

[selfsilent]

I have owned 3 iPads.
iPad 1 because it was the 1st.
iPad 3 for the retina display.
iPad air for the size reduction.

It's going to take more than a finger print sensor to make me upgrade again. My iPad air isn't slow so I don't need the extra speed.

Apple bang on every year about how great the iPad is for taking photos when they announce the new built in camera sensor, yet 6 generations in and it still doesn't have a flash.

Wide screen would be nice (iPhone ratio).

Obviously it makes no commercial sense for Apple to put an SD card slot into the side of the iPad. People would just buy the 16GB and throw a 64GB SD card in.

I don't think they need to increase the DPI of the screen. I can't see pixels now so I won't be able to not see pixels any less with a higher resolution screen.

Stop making it thinner FFS, just stick with a useable thickness and keep improving the battery, not deciding how long it can be used for and then make it as thin as possible to accommodate this particular battery.

The iPad would benefit from 3 speakers, 2 at the home button end and 1 on the other end. That way the speakers could be selected according to the screen orientation to give better stereo.

Higher quality audio would be nice but I don't think wireless charging is really necessary on the iPad.

I think the hardware innovation of the iPad has slowed right down and will continue to over the next few generations. The main changes and innovation will come from the subsequent updates to the software.

 

[manu chao]

I'm sure the "new" iPad Mini will fix this easily

Glassed Silver:mac

Evidently, selling an iPad mini with a state-of-art processor wasn't enough to do the trick. So, instead of upgrading the processor, they've slashed the prices at each storage capacity point by $100.

 

[Crosscreek]

I must be a "normal" MacRumors person because I'm waiting for my new iPad Air 2 to arrive as a replacement for my 3 year old iPad 2.

I'm doing the same thing. I didn't even put 8 on it because 7 slows it down enough.
Need more power now for more powerful ram sucking apps and to handoff with the Mac.

 

[CEmajr]

The only reason iPhones sell so well and are upgraded so often is carrier subsidies. IPad will never have a 1-2 year upgrade cycle until the perceived cost is closer to 200 than it is to 500. I think moving last years models aggressively lower in price has the potential to jump start iPad sales.

That's part of it but I also don't think iPads are viewed as a necessity by most people like smartphones (iPhones) are. People are on their iPhones all day long and take them everywhere while tablets see less use and for some aren't seen as useful at all if they have a Macbook Air or other laptop. iPads at this point seem to have already matured and most improvements seem to just be spec bumps rather than radical changes. Similar to computers, it's looking like people will keep their old iPad for 3+ years before feeling that they need another one. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will further squeeze the numbers of iPads sold in the coming quarter.

 

[puckhead193]

the only reason why I might upgrade to the new iPad Air is because my my iPad 3 battery doesn't hold a charge too well... I can still use it but only for about an hr or so..
In terms of performance it's fine. I watch movies/itunes and browse the web a few simple games..

 

[manu chao]

Stop making it thinner FFS, just stick with a useable thickness and keep improving the battery, not deciding how long it can be used for and then make it as thin as possible to accommodate this particular battery.

When have you ever run out of battery with your iPad? I know, I haven't, largely because I use the iPad while I am sitting (or lying down), which means I am in a building or vehicle with usually a power socket near enough. I'd rather pack a charger than a heavier battery. And when I travel with a shoulder bag only (most of the time), that bag can get heavy and a lighter iPad plays its part (as does a mirrorless camera instead of DSLR).

Reflections are a real issue, so that is a very welcome improvement.

 

[elmateo487]

Evidently, selling an iPad mini with a state-of-art processor wasn't enough to do the trick. So, instead of upgrading the processor, they've slashed the prices at each storage capacity point by $100.

not... quite...

 

[bluski9]

Absolutely no reason to continuously buy a new ipad every year when all that changes is the camera and maybe the chip and it's thinness..

If apple started to make the ipads able to multi-task with numerous screens open at the same time, or allowed direct downloads of music, movies off the internet instead of having to go through itunes etc then maybe their sales will improve..

But constantly boasting about how thin it is gets stale after a while without any major significant improvement over what the previous generations can do.

 

[Macdick]

ipad

Well they're so expsensive and people can continue to use old ipads...i wonder how many ipad 2 and originals are still out there.

I still have my ipad one 32GB and after left out on ios updates just in year or so i will never purchase another ,for surfing web ,email and use as paper weight is just fine .

 

[urtules]

the only reason why I might upgrade to the new iPad Air is because my my iPad 3 battery doesn't hold a charge too well... I can still use it but only for about an hr or so..
In terms of performance it's fine. I watch movies/itunes and browse the web a few simple games..

This should be better. A lot of people do not realize iPad great potential. All this simple things can be done with iPhone 6 and it's more portable, has a better camera.

Should be more apps like from OmniGroup, Paper, iMovie, iWork, Byword and now Pixelmator. iPad is unique device. It can work where your smartphone and laptop couldn't.

Touch screen based UI gives an opportunity for greater user interface with no learning curve at all. There is no hot keys, and no other OS X complications.

 

[brianvictor7]

Surely this was expected though...it's a luxury item to some degree and one that's in many ways duplicating the functionality of other devices people likely already have. At some point, the vast majority of people who want a tablet will have bought one, but are likely to not see a significant reason to upgrade year over year.

I fully agree. In my case, I haven't bought my first tablet (sprung for a Macbook Pro Retina this year). But when I get the iPad (someday) it won't be replaced until its broke, I'm sure.

 

[gnasher729]

How many people actually buy them full price though? It has to be less than 1 percent.

Everybody pays full price for their iPhones. But most people don't know.

 

[howieho]

I think the problem is not that the iPad is loosing so much share of it's target market but that the tablet market as a whole has grown to include a lot of budget tablets. So the market as a whole is larger and it appears as if Apples share is smaller. But for premium tablets, I think most people would agree that the iPad is the best product out there and most shoppers in this group wouldn't want to settle for less.

 

[Pakaku]

I use my iPad's speaker often enough to want stereo and most importantly: they should be placed somewhere that makes some actual sense.

I almost forgot that I immensely hate the back-facing design, after having spent more than a minute in the same room as my hard-of-hearing older relatives, shouting at their iPads while skyping...

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But tons of other tablet speakers suck less than the iPad ones. On a phone stereo is debatable but it's not that big a deal to put them in a tablet, particularly on the far ends of landscape mode.

I guess Apple's questionable choice in speakers can't justify wanting two of them, lol.

 

[aneftp]

How many people actually buy them full price though? It has to be less than 1 percent.

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Cute rant. But something like giving the iPad Mini a worthwhile upgrade doesn't take a genius.

Actually the number of people on ATT next upgrades is increasing. The last report had 50% of "upgrades" occurring with their ATT next (essentially full price with zero percent financing )

"AT&T said Next sales represented around 50 percent of all smartphone sales in the second quarter. That compares to around 40 percent in the first quarter"

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/att-next-upgrade-plans-powered-half-all-smartphone-sales-q3/2014-09-30

 

[firestarter]

Queue the entrance of all the armchair CEOs and Product Managers, you know the ones who would have made "totally different decisions" (despite their ideas not making *any* real world business sense).

You know, you should probably stay out of product discussion forums if that sort of thing upsets you. Discussing the positives/negatives of products is pretty much the raison d'être of this place.

Just saying...

Owning an Apple product doesn't preclude someone from being a troll.

Seemingly not.

 

[12vElectronics]

I expect this trend to continue for.. well forever. The hay days of the iPad, like the iPod, are behind us. Hence the introduction of the Apple Watch. That will be the next product Apple can boast about beating record sales quarter after quarter.