Give me an OLED on an iPad mini and I’ll get a flip phone.
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Apple's iPad Continues to Dominate Tablet Market
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Well, that's up to interpretation
They are tablets and do compete for buyers who are interested in tablet form factors and physical sizes, but primarily for gaming
A lot of what people actually do with iPads can be done very well on these other devices as well
I myself have shopped some of them for the "best of multiple worlds" type of usage
Let’s hope Apple doesn’t shortchange the iPad mini 8. It’s not easy going back once you experience a 120Hz OLED for a few years. Hopefully next year?
yeah, I never saw the point for myself. I use a MacBook a lot and have an iPhone. The iPad is nice for various things but there's too much overlap in uses cases when you have both an iPhone and a MacBook. But I suspect the iPad is great for those in other circumstances
Same here. I use mine at night all the time. It gets about as much use as my phone. I also watch TV on it when I’m in bed.
I have a current gen 11 inch iPad Pro that I never use. I also have a Thinkpad fold tablet that goes everywhere with me. These days iPads are babysitters, gaming and media devices. Nothing more.
I have trouble seeing the iPad as a laptop replacement for most people. If a iPad works great as a replacement for some people, that’s wonderful. For many of us, that’s not the case.
I think there's a whole lot of folks that don't need much more than a web browser, email and a way to view and edit photos and videos. For those folks a PC/macbook is overkill.
You can set yours up as a wall clock/calendar using one of the many clock apps that might suit you (that's my main use for an old iPad Air 3rd gen)
I use my iPads 90% of the time I am using a device. It’s my favourite device by FAR! I can’t believe how good it is.
I use my iPhone for calls and essential day to day apps but that’s it.
I’m an old school PC guy so the remainder is a Windows desktop for desktop stuff. The iPad has been increasingly encroaching on that usage.
They are handheld gaming consoles, not tablets. While the line gets a little blurry with detachable controllers for some, they are computers running a desktop OS that's been optimized (to varying degrees) for controller input, not touch. Touch is a secondary input method, not the primary one.
They compete with the Switch, gaming PCs, and other consoles. Not the iPad. While you can game on an iPad, few people buy the iPad primarily to game on it. It's just not well suited to it. Honestly the iPhone plus a controller attachment is a better option. Nor can it play as many console quality games (despite having the horsepower to do it) because Apple sucks at getting out of their own way. They have all the pieces and no clue of how to solve the puzzle. Sorry, I'm bitter because I want Apple to be a competitor in this space, but they're not...
Because for basic home computing tasks like browsing the web, checking email or even creative work like photo editing or drawing the iPad does it all. On top of being a great entertainment and consumption device. unless you have a very specific use case like needing tons of windows open or using proprietary software .
Quite honestly, the only reason why I keep using my iPad Pro M4 13-inch is that it has a native Apple TV app and the Samsung Tab S10 Ultra doesn’t. I have to go on the web to watch my shows, which feels inferior. That is all.
Apple continues to have no close competition in the tablet market, earning 42.3 percent of the global tablet market share in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to a new report from Canalys.
Apple shipped an estimated 16.9 million iPads during the quarter, up from 14.8 million in Q4 2023. The company's closest competitor was Samsung, with 7 million tablets shipped in Q4 2024 for 17.8 percent of the market. Lenovo, Huawei, and Xiaomi were third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.
For all of 2024, Apple shipped an estimated 57 million iPads for 38.6 percent of the market. Apple shipped over twice as many tablets as Samsung in 2024, with Samsung shipping just 27.8 million.
Apple refreshed its high-end iPad Pro with an M4 chip in 2024, plus it revamped the iPad mini with an A17 Pro chip and added an M2 chip to the iPad Air. In 2025, Apple plans to refresh the low-cost iPad and update the iPad Air yet again.
Article Link: Apple's iPad Continues to Dominate Tablet Market
I admit I thought Samsung tablets did better than that, but iPad is more popular by 2-1. That explains a lot really, like how accessories for Samsung tablets are far fewer than those for iPad.
People can be very vocal in their preferences, but numbers don’t lie. That said both Apple and Samsung dominate the tablet market by about 55 percent with the rest carved up the lesser brands. But overall the iPad rules.
People can be very vocal in their preferences, but numbers don’t lie. That said both Apple and Samsung dominate the tablet market by about 55 percent with the rest carved up the lesser brands. But overall the iPad rules.
It’s taken me 6 different iPads in various sizes to realize the same thing. It’s just so much easier to grab my MacBook to do simple things like move files to different folders. Having a touchscreen is nice, but after half an hour of holding an iPad, I start wanting the laptop form factor.
If anything, I’d like a phone that is bigger than the plus but still pocketable. I’m looking forward to a foldable.
That’s a great idea! What app do you use? Do you leave your iPad on all the time?
I had a 2nd Gen 11 inch Ipad Pro that I loved, I used it every single day for hours. But then I got stupid and bought the M1 12.9. The first 2-3 months I loved it. I was switching between it and my MBA M1 like crazy.... but it got old. Started using just my MBA. Sold both and got my MBP M4Pro. I LOVE my MBP but I am getting the itch for a Ipad again. Just something small to bring on day trips, read on at night, take to dr appts.... I will likely have only 2-3 apps. on it. The Mini is so temping but then again so is the 10th gen. AAARRRGGG.
Mine now gets the second highest use from me after my iPhone. It's pretty much my goto media consumption device. I also use the pencil for some work-related tasks. Bought one of the iPad 10 models when they were on sale for $349 back in 2023.
Mine 2nd gen Pro is in constant use, right now typing this, 90% is web browsing and watching YouTube, the rest will be random eBay, Twitter a few comics etc. Really find doing anything like that horrendous on my phones 6” screen, 11” is a much nicer size for me.
Trouble is the iPad gets so much use the battery only last a couple of years before it’s awful, now I put it on charge everytime I go out to walk the dog. Pro models have got so crazy expensive I can’t really afford a new one, so I’m pinning my hopes on one day the Air line gets the 120hz screens as I can’t live without that now I’m used to it.
Trouble is the iPad gets so much use the battery only last a couple of years before it’s awful, now I put it on charge everytime I go out to walk the dog. Pro models have got so crazy expensive I can’t really afford a new one, so I’m pinning my hopes on one day the Air line gets the 120hz screens as I can’t live without that now I’m used to it.
I don't change my iPad often. from 2017 10.5 iPad. When I was in the USA North Carolina back in October to November is where I bought it. I got a good deal and I also got Apple care plus. And I brought it back to Japan I used the dividends I had from Apple stocks with it. I don't change devices often. I use them until I need them.
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An iPhone can easily handle all of those tasks so an iPad can also be considered overkill. Unless you’re older and appreciate a larger display.