The iPad (any model) are great devices and I cant imagine life without them. I use mine to read books, watch movies, and do many other things that are better suited on it over a MacBook Pro or iPhone. I remember long before the Mini 5 was out I asked an apple store employee about the Mini and he said he thought apple would discontinue the model. Well here I am with the Mini 6 and apple still sells it. If the iPads did not sell well, apple would not continue to make new models (like the AppleTV) so they must sell well. So how well do you think the iPad models in general sell? Sure they dont sell as well as the iPhone or apple watch and that makes sense but they must sell by the millions each year.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad How well do you think iPads sell?
- Thread starter jwolf6589
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
They're doing well but are behind everything else Apple sells -
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/pdfs/FY22_Q4_Consolidated_Financial_Statements.pdf
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/pdfs/FY22_Q4_Consolidated_Financial_Statements.pdf
They are a little behind the Mac. I wish they would separate by type of iPads sold so we know which iPads sell the best.
So would Apple's competitors.
They released a new AppleTV model the past 2 years so I suppose those sell well enough as well. Sure not as well as Roku among other devices but well enough.
Probably because people upgrade them far less often than other Apple products. A lot of people keep them 5 or 6 years on average.
True. I have a Mini 6 and don’t plan to upgrade for a long time. I would have kept my Mini 5 but the move to the Mini 6 was big.
Not really sure how much they sell, but as a consumer I can tell you this. Once the iPad went to sub $300 (on sale) that was and is the price point sweet spot for me.
iPads don't have the same "necessity" aspect as iPhones and Macs as those two categories are almost a given for anyone that lives, studies or works in today's world. iPads are a complimentary device and are not used in the same capacity as the other two and are generally upgraded on a longer cycle.
I remember when I worked at retail iPads were the easiest thing to sell because people walked in and asked for them and generally had their old ones along with them so it was an easy switch. We rarely had to explain to them the features and whatnot, they knew what they wanted and bought it.
iPad also sells in millions solely in enterprise, education and government. I think that's likely the bulk of their sales.
I remember when I worked at retail iPads were the easiest thing to sell because people walked in and asked for them and generally had their old ones along with them so it was an easy switch. We rarely had to explain to them the features and whatnot, they knew what they wanted and bought it.
iPad also sells in millions solely in enterprise, education and government. I think that's likely the bulk of their sales.
One factor explains, in my honest opinion, the upgrade infrequency when compared to iPhones: battery life.
iPads have larger batteries and are used differently when compared to iPhones. Even if battery life is obliterated by iOS updates, it isn’t as destroyed as with iPhones. Even very old iPads maybe get 6 hours of screen-on time after years of use (even if while new on their original versions they got like 14), so its impact, while obvious, isn’t as felt as on iPhones (grab a 4 or a 4.7-inch iPhones with 7 years of use and test battery life if updated and it will probably be unusable, even with replaced batteries).
That coupled with many people’s usage patterns (indoors and at home), reduce necessity to upgrade: for content consumption, you can pick anything today starting with probably the Air 2 and it will be perfectly fine. Grab the 2014 or the 2015 iPhone (the iPhone 6 and 6s) and battery life will not be good if updated, regardless of how many batteries you replace.
iPads have larger batteries and are used differently when compared to iPhones. Even if battery life is obliterated by iOS updates, it isn’t as destroyed as with iPhones. Even very old iPads maybe get 6 hours of screen-on time after years of use (even if while new on their original versions they got like 14), so its impact, while obvious, isn’t as felt as on iPhones (grab a 4 or a 4.7-inch iPhones with 7 years of use and test battery life if updated and it will probably be unusable, even with replaced batteries).
That coupled with many people’s usage patterns (indoors and at home), reduce necessity to upgrade: for content consumption, you can pick anything today starting with probably the Air 2 and it will be perfectly fine. Grab the 2014 or the 2015 iPhone (the iPhone 6 and 6s) and battery life will not be good if updated, regardless of how many batteries you replace.
I think they sell more iPad units than Mac units but they make less money on iPad, the cheapest Mac is somewhere around $600-$700USD and goes up to tens of thousands. Most people seem to buy the MacBook Air or Pro and so the average is around $1100 USD (my guess, M1 Air is the best seller as far as I know). With iPad over half the iPads they sell are the $329 version. The most expensive iPad is roughly $2000USD (not including accessories).
For me, even though I could get by with a basic iPad, I bought the 12.9” Pro for the bigger and better screen and because of discounts I only paid $500CAD out of pocket after trade in of my 2018 11“ Pro, that includes Apple Care and the Magic Keyboard as well as keeping the pencil I already had. Most people won’t be in that position and honestly, as much as I love the size and display on this thing I wouldn’t pay ~$1500 USD for it and all the accessories, I’d get the iPad Air or 11” Pro.
I think iPad is still finding it’s people and Apple is trying to figure out what they want to do with it, make it a full on computer replacement or just stick to how they’ve designed it so far. I’m also really curious if EU regulation will change a bunch about iPad. On the phone I’m less interested in alternative app stores but on iPad I’m interested to see what game companies might come up with if they can avoid the App Store trap of in app purchases. I would much rather pay once for a game that was made to be enjoyed (I grew up in the PS/PS2, Xbox/X360, N64/GameCube era so I’m all about single player games like Metroid Prime, Wind Waker, Halo, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic etc). One other thing I wish they would do is allow me to backup my iPhone to the iPad Pro, archive a backup so I can run beta software on my iPhone and restore to latest public release without having a Mac. I recognize that‘s probably not a popular request so I accept it’s not likely.
For me, even though I could get by with a basic iPad, I bought the 12.9” Pro for the bigger and better screen and because of discounts I only paid $500CAD out of pocket after trade in of my 2018 11“ Pro, that includes Apple Care and the Magic Keyboard as well as keeping the pencil I already had. Most people won’t be in that position and honestly, as much as I love the size and display on this thing I wouldn’t pay ~$1500 USD for it and all the accessories, I’d get the iPad Air or 11” Pro.
I think iPad is still finding it’s people and Apple is trying to figure out what they want to do with it, make it a full on computer replacement or just stick to how they’ve designed it so far. I’m also really curious if EU regulation will change a bunch about iPad. On the phone I’m less interested in alternative app stores but on iPad I’m interested to see what game companies might come up with if they can avoid the App Store trap of in app purchases. I would much rather pay once for a game that was made to be enjoyed (I grew up in the PS/PS2, Xbox/X360, N64/GameCube era so I’m all about single player games like Metroid Prime, Wind Waker, Halo, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic etc). One other thing I wish they would do is allow me to backup my iPhone to the iPad Pro, archive a backup so I can run beta software on my iPhone and restore to latest public release without having a Mac. I recognize that‘s probably not a popular request so I accept it’s not likely.
By numbers, iPad likely outsells Macs 2:1 or so due to the cheaper options. The number of devices is important as the software development is dependent on the used base. It would be interesting to know if service revenue is higher from the iPad crowd than the Mac crowd. I would not be surprised.
The iPad is a web browser and media consumption device for a significant number of consumers and something that doesn’t need to be replaced regularly. I would say it sells well but how do you judge that? Annual sales figures, up to date total sales? It’s not a device that people generally replace annually or every couple of years so I’d imagine sales aren’t continuously high. The cheapest iPad in the range probably sells the best as it offers enough. Schools use them in learning and parents buy them for their kids, but part of me thinks Apple have lost sight of that when they brought out the iPad 10.
Well I think the problem Apple have is that iPads are on long upgrade cycles. I think people tend to keep their devices longer and most will only upgrade when their ipad is no longer working. My dad has an iPad Air 2 which he bought in 2016. He still uses it and as it still works he has no plans of upgrading it. I think it sells well and would sell better than any other brand of tablet combined. I think 2020 was a big boom/revival period for the ipad as people were buying iPads during lockdown. Maybe in a year or two the ipad will go through another boom period.
I also have the iPad mini 6 and iPad Pro 2018. I also don’t intend to upgrade anytime soon. Even my ipad Pro is overkill for what I do. I only need it for consumption and it does that perfectly. So I really don’t see any point in upgrading. I only upgraded from my 10.5 inch iPad Pro after 3 years because my kids damaged the charging port and it wasn’t charging properly. If not for that I would have probably still been using that and would have only been thinking of upgrading that about now. That would have been after 5.5 years of usage.
My parents did not upgrade their iPads till they could no longer get IPad OS updates. My mom had the Mini 1 until she upgraded to the Mini 5.
There are four in my household. (Me+Wife+2 Teens) Each of us always has an iPhone and iPad (Air)
Upgrade about every two years.
Then we have the hand-me-down MacBooks. I use the newest for work, wife gets my one version back, and son gets two versions back.
Daughter doesn't use laptop, she uses iPad for school while son uses MacBook but just for the Chrome browser which the school delivers learning through.
Upgrade about every two years.
Then we have the hand-me-down MacBooks. I use the newest for work, wife gets my one version back, and son gets two versions back.
Daughter doesn't use laptop, she uses iPad for school while son uses MacBook but just for the Chrome browser which the school delivers learning through.
from Q1 2022, so not exactly the latest information but probably a trend:
The iPad (2021) and iPad mini were the world's best-selling tablets in Q1
The iPad mini is a lot more popular than the iPhone mini, to say the least.
www.phonearena.com
In second place followed the well-reviewed and long-awaited iPad mini (2021). Apple’s mini-branded iPhones have severely underperformed in recent years — to the point that the size is being discontinued this September — but the latest data suggests that there’s still a lot of demand for mini-sized tablets.
Completing the top 3 was another iPad — the iPad Pro (2021). Apple’s high-end tablet comes in two sizes and starts at $799, but that high price hasn’t dissuaded customers, with the latest iPad Pro outselling every Android tablet on the market. That's certainly no mean feat.
Apple didn’t manage to capture the fourth spot on the best-sellers list, but the previous-gen iPad Air (2020) did end up becoming the fifth best-selling tablet overall in the first three months of 2022. That’s especially impressive considering the tablet originally launched in October 2020. But the iPad Air stands to make a big leap in the second quarter, as demand picks up following the iPad Air (2022) release in March.
The iPad (2021), iPad mini (2021), iPad Pro (2021), and iPad Air (2020) accounted for a combined 94% of Apple’s total tablet sales in Q1 2022. The remaining 6% is likely attributed to older models such as the iPad (2020) and the new iPad Air (2022). These four iPad models also captured a 30% share of the overall global tablet market.”
So, the best selling iPad is… The cheapest iPad!
The fact that these iPads are also bought in bulk by educational institutes, and such probably helps to bring them up even further.
It’s also probably the reason why the iPad doesn’t make as much money as the Mac, there are no Macs under $699 and their cheapest portable is even more than that.
I have owned
iPad 1,2,3,4, air 1, air 2, iPad Pro 9.7 A9x
iPad Pro 10.5 (A10x) , iPad Pro 11 (1st gen A12x), iPad Pro 11 3rd gen (m1), and now iPad Pro 11 (M2 still sitting in a box unopened I got for $599 military store really good deal)
So the only top of the line iPad I haven’t purchased was the iPad Pro 2nd gen (A12z)
Starting with the iPad Air 2. I kept those iPad at least 4 years. I used resell iPads every year.
It’s just me. I’m a junkie who buys everything. I don’t need it to be honest. The iPad Pro 10.5 A10x is still blazing fast with 4gb ram my son uses. And that’s 5 years old.
iPad 1,2,3,4, air 1, air 2, iPad Pro 9.7 A9x
iPad Pro 10.5 (A10x) , iPad Pro 11 (1st gen A12x), iPad Pro 11 3rd gen (m1), and now iPad Pro 11 (M2 still sitting in a box unopened I got for $599 military store really good deal)
So the only top of the line iPad I haven’t purchased was the iPad Pro 2nd gen (A12z)
Starting with the iPad Air 2. I kept those iPad at least 4 years. I used resell iPads every year.
It’s just me. I’m a junkie who buys everything. I don’t need it to be honest. The iPad Pro 10.5 A10x is still blazing fast with 4gb ram my son uses. And that’s 5 years old.
To be faie I bought a 299 ipad last year and to be honest I think it would basically do the same thing my ipad pro 12.9 does now. Basically watching content and browse from time to time. Since getting the fold 4 my ipad usage has gone down.
My macbook pro 16 inch can pretty much do many of the tasks i used to use the 12.9 pro for. So I may sell it to save some money. I got the 299 ipad for my son for watching his kid programmes but he's only 1 and has no interest in that at the moment.
You can read books on the 10.2 iPad and 12.9. Not really an advantage in that area either
Or one can read books in the form of a physical book. That works quite well for me!
Although I have to admit that one thing that tempts me with the iPad is that it could be used for e-books, which are often a practical choice--and increasingly the only choice. And the iPad could be used for other stuff as well.
Although I have to admit that one thing that tempts me with the iPad is that it could be used for e-books, which are often a practical choice--and increasingly the only choice. And the iPad could be used for other stuff as well.