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Apple Sold Fewer iPads Year Over Year for 13th Straight Quarter as Tablet Market Shrinks to Five-Year Low

The issue is that upgrading an iPad isn't all that critical, and there have been no new 'killer' features.

Personally, I would love to see mouse support along with the keyboard support.
 
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My iPad is two years old, is fast, runs great, use it every day, and have zero complaints.

It's an excellent tablet and synergistically compliments my computers and iPhone.

Why would I purchase another one? Perhaps others feel the same...
 
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I love John Gruber's canned response for this "People don't upgrade tablets like they do phones". You can only say that for so many years before you lose credibility.

I love my iPad and I'd definitely upgrade every 2-3 years or so but haven't done so because iOS is holding it back. I can't justify spending $699 on the Pro when my wife & I can't have our own logins. People always say "Apple wants to sell more iDevices, so they won't do multi-user support" - Great, then why not get rid of that feature on MacOS?
 
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Keep just one iPad lineup in 9.7" and 12.9" sizes, black or white, reduce the volume of the device and update them every year and a half / two years. It is iOS that needs yearly powerful updates to better suit the larger canvas and the Pro needs, and call it a day.
 
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Abazigal said:
I believe the chief reason is that Apple practically created the modern tablet market. In the beginning, everyone who wanted a tablet would get one from Apple, hence the exponential growth. Now, everyone who wants one has one, so we are gradually moving towards a PC-like replacement cycle, where the majority of users upgrade their iPads only every 4-5 years.

Let's look at it this way. Fewer people are buying the iPad mini, but revenue for the 9.7" and 12.9" iPads actually grew. This means that Apple will likely look to eventually phasing out the iPad mini. Once this is done, the larger iPads will be key to growth in the iPad market once again. Makes sense that Apple is pushing the larger iPads so aggressively in their latest advertisements.

The iPad is down but not out, and news of its demise are way exaggerated.
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Because they were more expensive.
 
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NinjaHERO said:
I'm not saying it's the main factor, but Apple's long refresh cycle for Ipads isn't helping. Update the 12.9 and you'll get my money Apple. :)
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Technology simply doesn't improve fast enough to justify an annual refresh cycle for the iPad, nor are people rushing to upgrade their tablets every 2 years the same way they do with smartphones either. Expect Apple to refresh their iPads once every 1.5 to 2 years moving forward.
 
FSMBP said:
I love John Gruber's canned response for this "People don't upgrade tablets like they do phones". You can only say that for so many years before you lose credibility.

I love my iPad and I'd definitely upgrade every 2-3 years or so but haven't done so because iOS is holding it back. I can't justify spending $699 on the Pro when my wife & I can't have our own logins. People always say "Apple wants to sell more iDevices, so they won't do multi-user support" - Great, then why not get rid of that feature on MacOS?
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Because it wouldn't cut it on an actual computer.
 
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I love my iPad Pro (9.7"). I have started leaving my 2013 MBP home on some business trips and just taking the iPad instead. It is not a complete laptop replacement but it does the majority of what I do with my laptop. I have to agree with the previous comment someone made that I don't feel compelled to upgrade my iPad as often as I upgrade my iPhone.
 
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I'm an ipad mini user - and I'd buy another if the new ones were any good.

But apple has decided that people who prefer the smaller form factor don't need the same features and performance as someone who likes to hold a larger device. If you need to add some horse power to drive the larger display, fine...

But there's feature and power disparity way beyond that. Why? if make no sense.

So why would I buy another "updated" device which I view as crippled for no good reason.

Don't let the tail way the dog Apple -
The reason you're selling fewer Mac mini's, iPad mini, mac Pros, etc. ISN'T because the audience base or need has evaporated - it's because you are failing to provide compelling product to those users as you focus instead on saving pennies.

Now go release that apple tv gen 5. Make it have the features the gen 4 should have had and watch that market pick up.
 
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I would buy a new iPad today (to replace my iPad 3)if the iPad Pro 12.9 offered Cellular in 32gb. I refuse to spend over $1k for an iPad which is what the cost is ($1,029 US) plus another $100 the pencil, another $100 for a good cover for the minimum 12.9 with cellular.

Also, I would buy an Apple TV but they are ridiculously overpriced so I bought a Roku instead. My iMac needs replacing but I am not paying $1,800 for nearly 2 year old technology.

Ridiculous.
 
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Hym tix said:
Hey Tim, Here's a simple fix: improve iOS for iPad and we'll buy more iPads
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Seriously this.
I have an iPad Pro, iPhone 6s Plus, and Touch Bar MacBook Pro. If I need to utilize iOS.. I go to my iPhone. If I need power.. I go to my Mac. The iPad is nothing different and it could be amazing if they would just utilize a new OS for it. The bloated up iPhone look isn't going to make people buy it and keep it.

Infuriating because the iPad Pro has so much wasted power.
 
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Rob_2811 said:
Because they were more expensive.
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No, it means that more people are buying them over the iPad mini.

The iPad mini likely constituted the bulk of the drop in sales for the iPad, and I believe sales of the larger iPads are more or less holding steady at the moment.

I think we can expect sales of the iPad to rebound within the next 2 quarters.
 
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Apple increasing the price on its tablets without any major upgrades or innovation is a major factor. It seems like no one at Apple is trying to take their products to the next level anymore. You can't keep making bigger sizes and in-between sizes and call it progress. Additionally, productivity is just not as good as a laptop.I had an ipad 3 a few years ago then sold it and I never felt the need to want to replace it.
 
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Abazigal said:
No, it means that more people are buying them over the iPad mini.

The iPad mini likely constituted the bulk of the drop in sales for the iPad, and I believe sales of the larger iPads are more or less holding steady at the moment.

I think we can expect sales of the iPad to rebound within the next 2 quarters.
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Does it? How is that then?
 
Got 5 tablets in my household. 2 iPads, Galaxy Tab 7, N7, and a Kindle. Only the Kindle (wife) gets actual use. Large screen phones have pretty much shot a close range, low velocity 22 caliber round behind the ear of tablets... at least in my household. They've always been consumption devices for us so the use case doesn't exist anymore. I can't envision a reason for a tablet purchase to hit my CC ever again.
 
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