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iPad Market Share Falls Below 25% as Tablet Market Continues to Decline

A few problems:

You can pick up a reasonably good tablet for less that £100 - most people do, then do not use it.
Samsung seem to give them away with anything these days.
Longevity - the iPad2 and Original Mini are still getting updates and both still perform well for most people (this excludes all the power users here that require an ipad with 28gb of Ram and 2tb of local storage) - why upgrade if they are working.
 
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I love my iPad Air 2. Previously I had the iPad (from work) and then the iPad 3. My take on this trend is as follows (totally my opinion based solely on my experience) --

  1. iPads do not get upgraded yearly
  2. iPads and laptops are competing for consumer dollars and laptops are winning
  3. iPads will begin to climb up again as they get more powerful, add multi tasking, and add a keyboard cover
  4. Apple will need to reconcile between the iPad and the Macbook
  5. Apple will need to reconcile iOS and OSX
Like MS or not, they are finally getting their act together and they are finally getting an OS that reconciles mobile and desktop. They still deploy them on subpar hardware, but they have the right idea, IMO. Apple seems to be taking the steps in the same direction but is being very careful. IMO, every step has been excellent - I love the handoff and continuity features and so far the multitasking in iOS9 is looking good. But there is a clear overlap between the iPad and the Macbook and if they release the iPad pro, the overlap will be even greater.

I am already committed to the iPad and see myself upgrading mine versus buying the Macbook. I can do that because I have an iMac that can do the heavy lifting tasks that the iPad cannot. Eventually, my hope is that I can do everything on the ipad and will not need to upgrade my iMac. I just hope Apple gets there sooner rather than later, because MS looks to be getting their act together (although the subscription approach is a bit of a non-starter for me). Google Chrome OS and Android for me is still behind.
 
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I'm still rocking a very aging iPad 2, but I also just picked up an iPad mini 2 w/LTE for $230 that should last me a while. Not sure if I'll go back to a full sized ipad, really the enjoying look and feel of the mini.
 
We haven't seen the upgrade cycle for iPad yet as there hasn't been a really compelling reason for people to upgrade. We might start to see it with split view and force touch. And if Apple comes out with an iPad "Pro".
 
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white4s said:
i thought tablets were the future and would replace laptops?

lol mo-rons
Click to expand...

Well, Apple still sold more than twice as many iPads as Macs, and of course some portion of those Macs are not even laptops. If thinking iPads are the future is "moronic", at this point, so is thinking they're the past (considering sales).

They obviously do replace laptops in some situations, just like laptops replace desktops in some situations. Hell, iPhones replace both laptops and desktops in some situations.
 
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I think it's not the lack of interest in the market for tablets but the lack of reason to upgrade on a yearly basis the same way as with phones. I'm very happy with my iPad Air 1 still. even my iPad retina is still used daily by my family. I bought the iPad Air 2 as well but to be honest I could just as happy sticking with the air 1. So the build quality combined with the less significant upgrades every year makes the sales drop. If iPad Air 3 is the same pad as air 2 only with some better cpu and better camera or whatever minor, I don't see any point buying it unless my current pad breaks. And I think this is the same for most people. Apple needs to rethink the iPad if they want strong sales every quarter.... It doesn't mean people don't appreciate the product, every kid and person I know owns an iPad all ready.
 
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quackers82 said:
They still sold 10.9 million iPads in the space of 3 months. Thats not to be sniffed at.
Click to expand...

Of course the market share is declining and will continue to decline..... As tablets become more popular people will by more cheap tablets. This will shape up like Mac vs PC; there will always more PC's be sold.

iPad is still the best tablet on the market.....
 
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556fmjoe said:
People say stuff like this all the time. I remember when someone told me we wouldn't be able to buy desktops anymore because laptops would replace them completely. Then it was the same with tablets. And while some people have replaced their desktops with laptops or their laptops with tablets, it is never on the scale that the analysts say it will be. They are different tools.
Click to expand...

And I remember a time when people still believed there would be central mainframes and just terminals that were a viewport on the resources housed there. "The Cloud" garbage has been trying to bring that back, but I still don't see people giving up the ability to run a word processor or spreadsheet program "offline" any time soon (if ever).
 
People are not compelled to upgrade their iPads. I mean we have people upgrading their MBPs every 3+ years, while Apple would have liked to see people upgrade their iPads every or every other year that's just not going to happen.

My wife's first gen mini does everything she wants it too, why should she upgrade when she's content with it.

The difference to me is people upgrade their phones and laptops because they need too, its their primary devices, the iPad is more of a secondary device, a nice to have but not critical to get one's tasks done.
 
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Cuban Missles said:
I love my iPad Air 2. Previously I had the iPad (from work) and then the iPad 3. My take on this trend is as follows (totally my opinion based solely on my experience) --

  1. iPads do not get upgraded yearly
  2. iPads and laptops are competing for consumer dollars and laptops are winning
  3. iPads will begin to climb up again as they get more powerful, add multi tasking, and add a keyboard cover
  4. Apple will need to reconcile between the iPad and the Macbook
  5. Apple will need to reconcile iOS and OSX
Like MS or not, they are finally getting their act together and they are finally getting an OS that reconciles mobile and desktop. They still deploy them on subpar hardware, but they have the right idea, IMO. Apple seems to be taking the steps in the same direction but is being very careful. IMO, every step has been excellent - I love the handoff and continuity features and so far the multitasking in iOS9 is looking good. But there is a clear overlap between the iPad and the Macbook and if they release the iPad pro, the overlap will be even greater.

I am already committed to the iPad and see myself upgrading mine versus buying the Macbook. I can do that because I have an iMac that can do the heavy lifting tasks that the iPad cannot. Eventually, my hope is that I can do everything on the ipad and will not need to upgrade my iMac. I just hope Apple gets there sooner rather than later, because MS looks to be getting their act together (although the subscription approach is a bit of a non-starter for me). Google Chrome OS and Android for me is still behind.
Click to expand...

In line for a larger iPad, BUT a keyboard foldaway option would be nice.

Until that keyboard thing is solved I think laptops will win.

Interesting that the SURFACE is only listed in " others"

Agree with everybody who says no need to upgrade until it no longer does what it was bought for. (Memory, storage etc.)
 
Stella said:
For basic home use, tablets are fine - email, light word processing, web browsing, casual game playing.. for more serious work, they just aren't there yet. In many cases - not all - especially iPad - the apps are cut down versions of their desktop counterparts.
Click to expand...
The Surface looks to be a better Taptop (is that a term, I figured that Phablet is a Phone-Tablet, so a Taptop is a tablet laptop....It's better than Laplet) than the iPad.
 
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maflynn said:
People are not compelled to upgrade their iPads. I mean we have people upgrading their MBPs every 3+ years, while Apple would have liked to see people upgrade their iPads every or every other year that's just not going to happen.

My wife's first gen mini does everything she wants it too, why should she upgrade when she's content with it.

The difference to me is people upgrade their phones and laptops because they need too, its their primary devices, the iPad is more of a secondary device, a nice to have but not critical to get one's tasks done.
Click to expand...
If they put a voice cellular chip in it, I'd upgrade e/o year. I've put a phone to my head exactly once in the last year.
 
My iPad 2 will be my last iPad. I love the tablet form factor, but Apple is keeping the iPad crippled as to keep selling Macs. Force Touch and a larger screen will not get me to upgrade to a newer and rumored iPad Pro. It's all about the SOFTWARE and what I can and can't do using iOS.

Apple will follow tradition and milk everyone by releasing tiny incremental upgrades until sales are about to completely fall of a cliff. I'm done waiting on Apple, and I will be migrating back to Windows when the forthcoming Surface Pro 4 is released.

-ITG
 
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Cuban Missles said:
I love my iPad Air 2. Previously I had the iPad (from work) and then the iPad 3. My take on this trend is as follows (totally my opinion based solely on my experience) --

  1. iPads do not get upgraded yearly
  2. iPads and laptops are competing for consumer dollars and laptops are winning
  3. iPads will begin to climb up again as they get more powerful, add multi tasking, and add a keyboard cover
  4. Apple will need to reconcile between the iPad and the Macbook
  5. Apple will need to reconcile iOS and OSX
Like MS or not, they are finally getting their act together and they are finally getting an OS that reconciles mobile and desktop. They still deploy them on subpar hardware, but they have the right idea, IMO. Apple seems to be taking the steps in the same direction but is being very careful. IMO, every step has been excellent - I love the handoff and continuity features and so far the multitasking in iOS9 is looking good. But there is a clear overlap between the iPad and the Macbook and if they release the iPad pro, the overlap will be even greater.

I am already committed to the iPad and see myself upgrading mine versus buying the Macbook. I can do that because I have an iMac that can do the heavy lifting tasks that the iPad cannot. Eventually, my hope is that I can do everything on the ipad and will not need to upgrade my iMac. I just hope Apple gets there sooner rather than later, because MS looks to be getting their act together (although the subscription approach is a bit of a non-starter for me). Google Chrome OS and Android for me is still behind.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I think one of the biggest reasons that tablets have stagnated is that they haven't delivered on the promise of replacing the laptop for daily, non-professional use. Apple needs to make iOS capable of more sophisticated use so the iPad can more fully replace the laptop. The hardware is there (more or less), but I just don't see iOS taking full advantage of it.
 
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maflynn said:
People are not compelled to upgrade their iPads. I mean we have people upgrading their MBPs every 3+ years, while Apple would have liked to see people upgrade their iPads every or every other year that's just not going to happen.

My wife's first gen mini does everything she wants it too, why should she upgrade when she's content with it.

The difference to me is people upgrade their phones and laptops because they need too, its their primary devices, the iPad is more of a secondary device, a nice to have but not critical to get one's tasks done.
Click to expand...
We don't know that Apple was expecting people to upgrade their iPad ever year or two. Tim Cook has repeatedly said they don't know what the upgrade cycle looks like yet but that it's trending more towards PC like upgrade cycles.
 
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iPads are just too expensive for what they do to upgrade frequently... I think most people would rather update their phones instead of their iPads given how much it would cost to upgrade both with the same frequency.

I know I run with the newest phone every year or two and put my iPad in an "upgrade only when absolutely needed" category.

I don't personally know a single person who thinks "man, I have to have the latest iPad every year". But even non-techie people I know always push their phone upgrades to the front of the line ASAP.
 
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The resale value on iPads is also abysmal. I was thinking of selling my iPad Air not too long ago, either just before or after the iPad Air 2 was released, and the average price for the low end was $250. I then picked one up for my cousin, with a smart case and Apple Care, for only $260. Crazy for something a year ago was $499 for the iPad only.
 
For only a bit more than a 64GB+ iPad (I wouldn't buy anything with less storage given the phat Apple apps) you can get a very nice touch laptop such as a HP Spectre. No contest in my book for productivity and flexibility -- the HP wins, even more so with Windows 10. iPads are overpriced and RAM starved.
 
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I'm curious to see what Apple can & will do to make upgrading iPads a more frequent occurrence. There's no current use case that makes upgrading every year or two necessary.
 
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