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

[Warbrain]

Before my MacBook Pro died yesterday my iPad was basically a really expensive video player. I'm stuck using it for home computing tasks until I get my laptop repaired and it's not a bad experience. Is the ideal experience, though? No. I see the utility for different people and sectors but as a primary computing device? It'll never be that in it's current iteration.

A larger iPad could be interesting but, keep this in mind, why would they release a 12-inch iPad with a keyboard dock/case/whatever running iOS when it would directly compete and cannibalize the newly released MacBook? There's no reason for both in the line-up. You want an iPad with a keyboard? Get the MacBook. You want a touchscreen device? Get the iPad. There is no reason for Apple to muddle up their lineup with that device.

 

[Gasu E.]

This. The iPad has been out barely over 5 years and we've had 6 models of full size iPads, and three models of mini? Do they not understand what over-saturation and consumer weariness is?

Agreed. The Mini needs a refresh and the new MaxiPad fills a need, but the Air should get skipped this year.

 

[ChrisCW11]

I think Apple is delusional that bumping up the version #'s for iPad is what is necessary to increase tablet sales. iPad Air 3, regardless of how thin it is, if the fundamental core user experience is still not significantly different than iPad 1.0, then the tablet market will not pickup. I don't care how many bits the CPU can handle, or how fast the clock speed is, or how thin or how many pixels are on the screen, ALL of that is not driving tablet sales because there has been no significant improvement in tablet functionality since the original iPad. I also don't care if I can snap apps on one side or the other, I am not driven to buying a tablet for a feature that can be implemented with better software.

People are tired of the idea of tablets being a "laptop" replacement, and then they don't offer real laptop replacement features. Even a large iPad Pro, while it might have a spike sales on release, in reality if the fundamental user experience is the same as a regular sized iPad, just with a bigger screen, and no additional clearly defined enterprise functionality then I think Apple is truly clueless about what they need to do to make tablets more attractive.

I think the only tablet market that is growing is the "hybrid" market. Surface Pro 3 sales are increasing steadily and Microsoft is poised to announce Surface 4 Pro with new Intel processors. The combination of a small thin tablet form-factor WITH the ability to run REAL desktop applications has proven to be a more powerful motivator for enterprise users then just having a 12" tablet that behaves like the same tablet their kids use at home. I think Apple is lost in knowing how to keep iPad's relevant.

 

[melendezest]

I don't. I have 6 tablets as I am making a game at the moment. 2 iPads - 3 and a mini, Fire HD7, Nexus 7, Galaxy 10 and a tesco Hudl.

I am well aware of what they can and can't do. The point it that the iPad is overall more reliable 'because' of the walled garden and less fragmentation.

Ok.

But it seems like your focus is from a developer's perspective.

As users, we've had no issues with reliability on our Android devices, and fragmentation is a non-issue from that perspective.

The wife and I both prefer not only the UI (S4 and Note 3), but the hardware features (replaceable battery, SD card access/storage, S-Pen on the Note, customizable back/cases, etc.).

We simply can do more than we can on iOS devices.

But hey, there's always tradeoffs. Now that Apple upped their screen sizes, it's one less thing. But not enough to make me come back.

 

[Zirel]

i thought tablets were the future and would replace laptops?

lol mo-rons

Apple sold more iPads than Dell (3rd largest) sold PC's...

And not too far away from HP or Lenovo...

 

[AppleScruff1]

I wonder if the smart watch market will follow a similar but faster curve downwards?

 

[currentinterest]

In my case I went from iPad 1 to iPad 2, to iPad 3, skipped iPad 4, to iPad Air, and now to iPad Air 2. I felt there were major improvements that each had over the other that warranted the upgrade. I doubt, however, that I will be upgrading this year. I think the iPad Air 3 will likely feature a faster CPU, but with little else changed. It won't be until the iPad Air 4 that we will likely see ForceTouch. It will be the split screen multitasking and ForceTouch that will ultimately get people to upgrade in larger numbers.

I will continue to upgrade my phone each year. It will give the 6S plus a try this time. Since I have the Apple Watch (could not live without it) I won't have to use it except for more extended phone calls and reading, making it more like an iPad. I am interested in seeing how that will affect my iPad usage. My wife has already indicated that she does not need an iPad upgrade because of her use of her Apple Watch and iPhone 6.

 

[Karma*Police]

i thought tablets were the future and would replace laptops?

lol mo-rons

It's still early. I work for a Windows/Android OEM and our tablet business is growing while our laptop business is shrinking. In fact, the overall PC market is shrinking faster than the tablet market.

I don't remember anyone saying tablets would replace laptops. For many users, it will since laptops were/are overkill. I think that was Steve Jobs's view with his cars/trucks analogy... that it would be the more dominant computing form factor. If you stretch the definition of tablet to include phablets, we're already there.

 

[melendezest]

I think Apple is delusional that bumping up the version #'s for iPad is what is necessary to increase tablet sales. iPad Air 3, regardless of how thin it is, if the fundamental core user experience is still not significantly different than iPad 1.0, then the tablet market will not pickup. I don't care how many bits the CPU can handle, or how fast the clock speed is, or how thin or how many pixels are on the screen, ALL of that is not driving tablet sales because there has been no significant improvement in tablet functionality since the original iPad. I also don't care if I can snap apps on one side or the other, I am not driven to buying a tablet for a feature that can be implemented with better software.

People are tired of the idea of tablets being a "laptop" replacement, and then they don't offer real laptop replacement features. Even a large iPad Pro, while it might have a spike sales on release, in reality if the fundamental user experience is the same as a regular sized iPad, just with a bigger screen, and no additional clearly defined enterprise functionality then I think Apple is truly clueless about what they need to do to make tablets more attractive.

I think the only tablet market that is growing is the "hybrid" market. Surface Pro 3 sales are increasing steadily and Microsoft is poised to announce Surface 4 Pro with new Intel processors. The combination of a small thin tablet form-factor WITH the ability to run REAL desktop applications has proven to be a more powerful motivator for enterprise users then just having a 12" tablet that behaves like the same tablet their kids use at home. I think Apple is lost in knowing how to keep iPad's relevant.

I agree.

But I think even Apple saw the writing on the wall, and so not to break their own "OS Separation" rule came up with an iPad replacement: the MacBook.

 

[Leonard1818]

I stopped using my iPad when I got my iPhone 6 Plus. My guess is that's the direction personal computing will head. Your phone will be the hub. It'll act as a mobile device when on the go, but when you get home, it'll wirelessly connect to some sort of Cinema Display.

excellent point. Only I see it being everywhere like this.....I've been saying this for 15+ years -- ever since I went to undergrad and they had little computer kiosks set up in various buildings. I predicted one day it wouldn't be a computer, keyboard, etc. -- but rather just a screen (and some kind of digital keyboard projected from your "device" perhaps) that people could just walk up to and instantly mirror their display on.

 

[ChrisCW11]

why would they release a 12-inch iPad with a keyboard dock/case/whatever running iOS when it would directly compete and cannibalize the newly released MacBook?

This is true but Apple has to stop this assumption that tablets and laptops are two individual entities that could never be one thing for everybody.

Apple came out and dismissed the Surface as a horrible hybrid product that nobody would want, but years later this is the only market segment that is growing while iPad's are declining.

I can tell you right now, NO corporate user wants an larger sized iPad that can't be used property with a keyboard and mouse and with apps like Office and other real business tools and services. Period, end of story. iPad Pro might be a novelty for a while and help Apple out with investors for a few short quarters of impressive profit, but at the end of the day unless iPad Pro can replace a laptop it will not succeed.

So yes, I also don't believe Apple will release an iPad Surface with a dedicated keyboard attachment or case or cover, and I don't even think they will release it with a stylus amid those rumors, as this would make it too much like the Surface Pro, and so the iPad Pro will essentially be a larger iPad and a failure as a business tool, simply because Apple refuses to run OS X on a touch screen.

 

[Icaras]

In my case I went from iPad 1 to iPad 2, to iPad 3, skipped iPad 4, to iPad Air, and now to iPad Air 2. I felt there were major improvements that each had over the other that warranted the upgrade. I doubt, however, that I will be upgrading this year. I think the iPad Air 3 will likely feature a faster CPU, but with little else changed. It won't be until the iPad Air 4 that we will likely see ForceTouch. It will be the split screen multitasking and ForceTouch that will ultimately get people to upgrade in larger numbers.

I will continue to upgrade my phone each year. It will give the 6S plus a try this time. I am interested in seeing how that will affect my iPad usage. My wife is already indicated that she does not need an iPad upgrade because of her use of the iPhone 6.

I had the same upgrade path as you, except I replaced my iPad 3 with an iPad mini before ultimately returning to the 10-inch form factor with the Air (and i don't think I'll be returing back to the mini). I also don't intend to upgrade my iPad Air 2 this year so this will be my first annual break. Force Touch will definitely be an upgrade to consider though.

 

[bladerunner2000]

I wonder if the smart watch market will follow a similar but faster curve downwards?

Definitely. It creates more problems than solves any. In fact, the 'smart' watch doesnt solve any problems at all.

 

[crsh1976]

I don't see how tablets were ever going to be "all that", they certainly are never going to replace full-fledge computers for all computing needs - tablets are fun, casual devices, and that's fine. For pro work, they're limited and tend to slow us down.

I still have my old iPad 2, it still works and it's probably the best tech purchase I made in the last 5 years - but I'm not buying another, I don't need to (it still runs pretty much everything) and newer models don't offer vastly better features, they're just faster and have retina screens (not good enough for me).

 

[alexgowers]

Sales declining is one thing, but a market share decline is somewhat concerning.

It's because iPhone 6 plus is cannibalising iPad sales, along with Macbook and macbook pro sales which are pretty strong.

Most like myself have an iPad and use it a lot less once getting a larger iPhone.

The upgrade cycle is around 3-4years now there is very little advantage for someone to have iPhone and iPad always up to date compared with just updating one device to run latest iOS.

I personally prefer the macbook or macbook pro as the platform for me, with iPhone 6 plus there is no need for the iPad.

 

[Kurri]

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..

I agree 100%. I have not upgraded mine because it still works fine. If the iPads were cheaper I would probably upgrade, but since they are rather pricey, I'll upgrade when my iPad is no longer working. Mine works just fine

 

[Benjamin Frost]

To say that iPad's market share is below 25% is disingenuous.

Last time I looked, its share of web browsing was in the region of 90%. That, to me, is a much more accurate reflection of its long-term market share.

On a side note I love using my iPad Air 2. I had an iPad 2 before, and it's leaps and bounds beyond it. If anyone is thinking of upgrading from an iPad 2 or earlier, he will be in for a pleasant surprise!

Thank you, Steve Jobs and all at Apple, for the wonder that is the iPad.

 

[SixtyK]

I love my iPad 2. I just haven't had a need to upgrade or replace it yet. On top of that, since I got an iPhone 6 Plus, I find myself reaching for the iPad less.

On a related note...

 

[neverendingscot]

Should also mention that in the absence of the Apple Watch, I'd be wearing a Microsoft Band. Notifications on my wrist are incredibly useful to me.

I got an android Wear watch (since I have an Android phone) specifically for that reason. It serves that function more than admirably, and does a whole lot more than that. It's gimmicky. I wasted my money. Thankfully I got it on sale for only $100.

 

[BigJohno]

Well when every company makes a 6inch phone whats the point of a 9 inch tablet....

 

[Benjamin Frost]

If the 12.9" iPad is thin enough and light enough, that's going to reenergize sales. The screen size will be the equivalent of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, which means that it will be a boon for both business and publishing use. The current 9.7" screen is certainly usable for things like professional documents, trade books, textbooks, magazines, and comics/graphic novels, but it's not really big enough. Everything always seems slightly too small. An 8.5 x 11 standard in a very light form factor would completely change that.

I couldn't agree more.

If the iPad had an A4-sized screen, then it would become a business-optimised device. All the reasons you gave are good, and it would also be a boon for musicians, particularly for sheet music. Video and photo would pop as well.

Most magazines in NewsStand sadly just put up PDFs. The text is too small, but with a 13" screen, they would become readable. MacFormat is an honourable exception, which makes a beautiful iPad-optimised app.

 

[matthewhuk]

I'm sure apple will release an update that makes earlier iPads so slow they're virtually unusable as usual to force people to upgrade.

 

[neverendingscot]

This is what's funny to me about "those people". How often do you need to expose the file system in the every day use of any modern program out there, at all? Even Windows wants to nudge you to keep everything in one place...all those other folders outside of your Documents folder have a singular purpose as well. Music, Videos, etc. And on a mobile device, it's incredibly unnecessary - and Microsoft agrees if Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile are to be believed.

Not everyone likes keeping their files organized in the manner in which the OS "suggests" they do. I never store anything I want to consistently access in the documents and assorted music, video, etc. folders.

 

[Tycho24]

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.

Sounds like an almost unfathomably teeny & narrow niche market

 

[manu chao]

LOL... I don't think so.

You mean you still stand by your claim that, "there is nothing a laptop can't do that a tablet can"?