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

[TechZeke]

I have an iPad 2 64gb. I hope Apple realizes the reason why I, and some others, haven't bought another one is my iPad still works great. I don't think people need the new items on an iPad as much as on a phone. I bought a iPhone 4s then iPhone 5 and I am still using the 5. They make good hardware and most people aren't going to buy the new item unless it is needed.

The people I know with iPad 2s, are keeping their iPad 2s. It still surfs the web fine, and plays all the games they want to play. The only apps I've seen so far that require newer iPads are the most graphically intensive games, which the vast majority of people don't play anyway.

Also, what people forget is that you can't get an iPad on some installment plan like a phone. You are paying the $400-500 for the device up front. $500 is the average price people pay for a PC laptop. My aunt spent $600 on her iPad 2 when it was new with 3G, and she no reason to pay another $600 when her iPad does the job fine.

With that said, I hope this debunks the planned obsolescence myths, because Apple has had 1000000x better software support for older devices than any android device I know of. (Not hating on android, I'm just saying) Of course, the iPad 1 was huge blunder hardware-wise. Apple pretty much had to kill it quick because it was already horribly lagging after 1 iOS upgrade.

 

[2984839]

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).

Agreed, but the shift between a mainframe/terminal concept and owning your own computer is enormous. There isn't anywhere near that kind of difference between a laptop and a tablet.

 

[JerryGarciaBandFan]

How about using a laptop while standing vs using an iPad while standing?

Why would you need to stand while using a laptop? Laptops and tablets have different uses. They aren't comparable yet. Other than the surface 3. A true laptop replacement.

 

[goobot]

How about using a laptop while standing vs using an iPad while standing?

Most don't use an iPad like that either. That's what an iPhone is for.

 

[Manderby]

Strange to see him after this much time. Something has changed. This is just an old man saying things that may or may not matter.

 

[Saucesome2000]

I think we're coming to see that tablets are a lot like PCs in regards to how often they will be upgraded by users. They had the large initial boom of sales to get them into the market, now people are just keeping what they have since it's good enough. The iPad 2 still gets the job done for most people and most businesses who purchase them in bulk are also still using iPad 2s. No reason to get a newer model.

In fact I think tablets will be upgraded even less often than PCs going forward as they are the least essential device between computers, smartphones, and tablets.

Agreed. I'm currently using an iPad 2 and it works fine. People upgrade their iPhones every two years because they get constant daily use. The tablet is replacing a lot of people's computers and therefore will be upgraded as often as a computer. I'm not sure why some of the people on here expect the iPad to be replaced every year.

 

[Saucesome2000]

They are or will be if you see the total volumes and compare them to the ones of e.g. laptops. At least when you take the private sector into account. Business is something different and here no such prediction was made.

Secondly, people just don't replace them as fast as other iOS products especially like the iPhone, whose growth rates are mainly used for comparison.

I'm a reseller and we see more and more companies every day buying iPads when their outside sales force or on-site forces need new laptops.

 

[neverendingscot]

Right now the Surface Pro would be the only tablet I would even consider buying since it is a legitimately good laptop/tablet hybrid. Trying to replace a laptop with a tablet is just frustrating. I tried replacing my personal laptop with a tablet for a few days, even used the bluetooth keyboard I have for work. It was just a frustrating experience, it's jut so much easier to do basically everything on a laptop than a tablet, and it has nothing to do with the OS either.

But alas the Surface Pro is a Windows machine. Don't know if I would want to go back down the Windows path.

 

[The Game 161]

6 plus I'm sure plays a big factor on this

I just got my iPad air 2 and loving it..Didn't know what i was missing coming from Samsung

 

[The Doctor11]

People just don't update their tablets as they do their phones. They just don't. Apple needs something extremely compelling to get upgrades from the majority. Split screen is a start, but not enough.

 

[The Doctor11]

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.

I don't think I've ever read something more true.

 

[iChrist]

IMO, that's just what happens when the tablet market exploded too soon and OEMs flood the market with tons of cheap tablets.

I don't see this as a inherently bad thing. I still love my iPad, and get lots of use out of it, and do see myself upgrading eventually.

Or... maybe it's because Apple uses the exact same UI on a huge tablet as on a small phone.


.

 

[bladerunner2000]

How about using a laptop while standing vs using an iPad while standing?

LOL... I don't think so.

 

[bladerunner2000]

The fact the iPad still doesnt have something as simple as a file finder is ridiculous. Freakin android phone have a file explorer. But a 10 inch tablet doesn't.

Get it together Apple!

Gotta love that 'walled garden' approach by Apple. That's the #1 reason why I see iOS as a pathetic joke; WAY too many limitations.

 

[a.gomez]

only people that can be surprised by this are the idiots that believed the "post PC" era BS. This nonsense has always been a toy - who cares that there is a 12.5 version coming, it still has a Mickey Mouse OS.

 

[AngerDanger]

I have an iPad 2 64gb. I hope Apple realizes the reason why I, and some others, haven't bought another one is my iPad still works great. I don't think people need the new items on an iPad as much as on a phone. I bought a iPhone 4s then iPhone 5 and I am still using the 5. They make good hardware and most people aren't going to buy the new item unless it is needed.

I hope they never realize that and feel further impetus to implement planned obsolescence.

 

[TechZeke]

Or... maybe it's because Apple uses the exact same UI on a huge tablet as on a small phone.


.

Gotta love that 'walled garden' approach by Apple. That's the #1 reason why I see iOS as a pathetic joke; WAY too many limitations.

only people that can be surprised by this are the idiots that believed the "post PC" era BS. This nonsense has always been a toy - who cares that there is a 12.5 version coming, it still has a Mickey Mouse OS.

I somewhat agree; though just slapping OS X on it wouldn't have been the right move IMO. I think with iOS 9 and the iPad Air 2, Apple has really further differentiated the iPad from the iPhone as a productivity device. Especially with apps like Microsoft Office, you could be doing most of the basic stuff my rMBP does. iOS 9 makes it pretty competitive, IMO.

 

[agsystems]

IMO, that's just what happens when the tablet market exploded too soon and OEMs flood the market with tons of cheap tablets.

I don't see this as a inherently bad thing. I still love my iPad, and get lots of use out of it, and do see myself upgrading eventually.

Exactly - are people not using their Ipads (reading, shopping, gaming, business, schools, etc.) - off course they are

This products is behaving like a PC and its being replaced in the same 5-7 year cycle.

I put some blame on Apple for not improving the software sooner - if this thing is supposed to replace a PC, it needs file management/multitasking (IOS 9) and a bigger screen (hopefully this fall)

 

[Tycho24]

Why?

For serious??????

I guess you are one of the four people on the planet that haven't had the pleasure of using a tablet paired with a tablet OS yet.
Let me tell you: it's awesome!!!!
After years (decades?) of using heavy/bloated operating systems by Microsoft, using a super lightweight OS without legacy garbage & millions of lines of obsolete code, is an absolute breath of fresh air!
You should really check it out... then you may be able to relate more with people on a tech forum.
Most of us have actually experienced multiple offerings & can CLEARLY see the advantage of not running full Windows 10 on our freaking tablets, ffs. Hope this helps.

 

[Tycho24]

I guess I could use a little help here. 45% other? Truth is I don't hang out at Best Buy much anymore and don't really pause to look at non Apple stuff, so I might be out of the loop, but that number seems a little high to me. If LG is in forth place at 3.6% market share, then there has to be at least 13 other producers and probably more to make the numbers work. Are there really that many? (3.6*13=46.8)

Yeah.
These are the $40 RCA tablets and the like, sold at Walmart.
If a kid breaks one, mom & dad throw it in the garbage and buy another. They are dirt cheap garbage, & thus sell more.

 

[calzon65]

I have a Windows laptop and an iPad Air ... I really like my iPad Air (excellent tablet/touch oriented O/S, etc.). However, with the release of Windows 10 and the new upcoming Intel Skylake CPUs, if a manufacturer can create a powerful laptop that has an easily detachable screen to use as a tablet, I may abandon my current laptop/ipad duo.

Yes, I know there are already a number of these hybrid type laptops and I also know Microsoft has their Surface Pro 3, but the current solutions (for me) have not been compelling enough for me to abandon my laptop/ipad duo.

My point is that I think the next generation of Skylake based laptop/tablet combinations (e.g., laptops with detachable screens) coupled with Windows 10 (assuming Windows 10 successfully works well with a keyboard/mouse and touch screen) may be another force that eats into the overall tablet market. Now I don't think the tablet market is going to totally evaporate, but I do think there are many folks like me who carry a laptop & tablet and would like to have an all-in-one solution.

 

[Marx55]

The iOS is a toy and not fully compatible with the real computer (Mac). Apple should make a Mac tablet. Not for heavy work but the ultimate Keynote and PowerPoint presentation tool.

 

[JackANSI]

I upgrade every year, but then I'm a "weekend developer" (and I make enough to afford a new iPad from that There are always new features or APIs that require having the latest iPad to take advantage of. I realize that's an extremely small # of people though. Also, selling the previous year's iPad makes the upgrade not the worst thing in the world if you use the device heavily.

The company I do development work for always has a few of the newest devices around, android or apple. But those are for development, you don't get to take them anywhere. I'm talking personally, for normal private use...

If I had to guess, the number of people who have owned every iPad is easily less than 1% of the total number of people that have an iPad.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

The iOS is a toy and not fully compatible with the real computer (Mac). Apple should make a Mac tablet. Not for heavy work but the ultimate Keynote and Presentation tool.

Except for the fact that Powerpoint on Windows has the market share by far, and there are plenty of tablets for that.

 

[topmounter]

I think we're coming to see that tablets are a lot like PCs in regards to how often they will be upgraded by users. They had the large initial boom of sales to get them into the market, now people are just keeping what they have since it's good enough. The iPad 2 still gets the job done for most people and most businesses who purchase them in bulk are also still using iPad 2s. No reason to get a newer model.

In fact I think tablets will be upgraded even less often than PCs going forward as they are the least essential device between computers, smartphones, and tablets.

I'm still using a 2013 Nexus7 and while I'm semi waiting on a refreshed iPad Mini this year and maybe I'll treat myself, but I don't see any real "need" based on how I use the Nexus7 now. I just gave my 2010 13" MBA to my wife and replaced it with the latest 2015 13" MBA, but again, it was a very nice upgrade, but not "necessary" in any sense.

The only product that has come close to transcending any real, practical need for me has been the 12" MacBook, but my 2015 13" MBA showed up one week before the 12" was announced and at this point it makes sense to keep using the 13" and wait for the next iteration of the 12".

Which brings up another point, I'm hoping the next 12" MB is convertible w/ a touch screen, but that would cannibalize iPad sales further and I think that is where Apple's need to continually appease Wall Street each quarter has stymied their ability to be truly innovative. Being disruptive is a great way to be, unless you're disrupting your own business (in the short term at least) and convoluting the message for investors. A 2# 12" MacBook that can double as an OSX tablet will just further lengthen my tablet upgrade cycle if not end it completely.