iPad Pro Outsells Microsoft Surface in Launch Quarter

[apolloa]

You won't find anyone that loves the Surface Pro 3/4 more than I, but I think that is wishful thinking. For a typical home user that browses the web and sends emails here and there, the iPad can hardly be beat.

Well we will see, depends if the Surface gets more of a foothold in the enterprise sector, it seems to be popular though and is seen as a computer as opposed to a tablet like the iPad.
Some people only use their phones and have nothing else, they have broadband at home but only use their phones. So anythings possible.

 

[HenryDJP]

I think the iPad Pro is too pricey by at least 150$.

You know I honestly haven't been pricing them as I am not interested in one but after reading your post I went to the Apple online store. Yep, they're pretty expensive, especially since they don't have the 3D touch feature. That's why I'm not big on buying the first gen of the latest product. I can wait a while.

 

[Makosuke]

This article shows tablet usage statistics for January 2014 and January 2015. The article is about how much Samsung's usage has grown - so I think it's fair to say it's unbiased: https://chitika.com/insights/2015/q1-tablet-update

This article shows iPad's high web usage early 2014: http://www.cheatsheet.com/technolog...-web-traffic-in-north-america.html/?a=viewall

It's actually really difficult to find data on it though.

I've seen that Chitka data before, but unfortunately because it's just comparing use share among tablets (and only those used to browse the web in North America, at that), it says exactly nothing at all about total installed base. 70% could be 7 out of ten tablets in use, or it could be 70 million out of 100 million. So it offers almost no useful information about how many of the iPads Apple has sold to date are still in use.

And it also, of course, says nothing at all about tablets that aren't being used to browse the web. Given the sales breakdown with Android, there simply must be a lot of Android tablets floating around in North America that aren't being used to browse the web, or doing so very rarely. They can't all be sitting in drawers.

So while better than nothing, it really doesn't answer the question "How many iPads are still in active use?", nor "Is the total number of iPads in use growing, flat, or falling?"

NetMarketShare has a few numbers that could be used to extract a rough web-only usage share of tablets, but most aren't available free; maybe one of the other web traffic aggregators has better data:

http://www.netmarketshare.com/report.aspx?qprid=17&qpct=3

Based on that screen resolution graph, though, given that iPads and maybe a few other tablets are probably the only devices still in use that report a 1024x768 resolution, it would imply that about 8% of all web traffic is on a tablet, and at least 70% of that is iPads. I have no idea what total number of phones and desktops are used on the web, so that still isn't a usable number, but it's something.

If this site is correct that there are 3.366 billion internet users as of November, and about 8% of those are on iPad-sized tablets, and 70% of those are iPads, then that would mean an installed base of 188M iPads globally. With current cumulative iPad sales sitting at around 300M, that would mean roughly 60% of all iPads sold are still in active use on the web. Not at all sure how that compares to iPhone or desktop statistics for a product of similar age, and those numbers are unquestionably wrong, since they make a lot of incorrect assumptions and oversimplifications.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Am I understanding this article correctly in that the iPad Pro sold about as many units in Q4 2015 as the Surface Pro did, when it debut in Q1 of 2013? And that the sales of the iPad Pro compare favorably to other detachable (meaning the Surface Book?)

 

[Max(IT)]

You know I honestly haven't been pricing them as I am not interested in one but after reading your post I went to the Apple online store. Yep, they're pretty expensive, especially since they don't have the 3D touch feature. That's why I'm not big on buying the first gen of the latest product. I can wait a while.

I went the opposite direction and bought an iPad mini 4 in december

 

[Darrin Bell]

I wonder how many iPad Pro users have contemplated a Surface Pro... and vice versa.
Or are the current iPad Pro users die-hard iOS fans?

I own a SP2, but gave up on using it as an art tool because of the jagged lines it produces. I bought a Cintiq Companion 2, which is a hell of a lot better. I'm interested to find out of there's some way I could fit the iPad Pro into my workflow, simply because it's a lot more portable than the Cintiq. But I don't think I could use it to complete my work from start to finish unless there's a program that's compatible with the full version of Photoshop (i.e. it could handle multiple layers, filters and scripts). I'll go out and buy an iPad Pro the day I hear about an app like that.

 

[GeneralChang]

Exactly, these are 'estimates' or in other words 'a complete guess NOT to be taken as a fact'. And where is the breakdown of how well the Surface Pro is doing?

Microsoft has stated and shown in its earnings it's Surface range is gaining more sales whilst Apple showed in its earnings how the iPad sales have dropped by a quarter. Much more reliable facts then someone's guess if you ask me.

EDIT: I should of added actually, their is no breakdown or mention of what Surface products the iPad Pro is supposed to have surpassed in this story at all. So for all I know it could be talking about the Surface and not the Surface Pro and Book.

To say that these estimates are "someone's guess" is to reduce an entire branch of economic analysis to rolling dice. Which is a gross simplification and more than a little presumptuous. There is actual data and analysis involved here. The numbers are obviously not exact, but a difference of some 400,000 units is a touch more than a rounding error.

Now, I get that you were confused by the way the article (and especially the title) were written. Which is why my last reply was an explanation of what the numbers actually were and where they were coming from.

What's more telling is your assumption that just because the Surface has been growing in popularity and the iPad line (as a whole) has been declining, that Microsoft has for sure been selling more Surface devices than iPad Pros you betcha boy. That, in contrast to the survey quoted in this article, is 'a complete guess NOT to be taken as a fact'. And considering the historical performance of the Surface line... well... it seems like a terribly uninformed assumption at that.

 

[Wowereit]

The number is based off MS' profit margin on the Surface line. It's an educated assumption saying that if they made X amount of money off this, then they had to sell Y amount of Surfaces to get it.

Pretty sloppy, but it does have some basis in fact.

I don't know if they have released Surface's earnings for Q4 2015 yet, but if they have:
There are no numbers for iPad Pro available.

One way or another, it's just clickbait.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

I picked a couple iPad Pro's up to eval in our design offices.
Result: They're no more useful than iPads were 2 years ago. It's still just a mobile device with iOS on it, but now the hardwares too big to be convenient as a mobile device. There's still no design software available for the platform more powerful than iDraw/Graphic for vector sketching. Cad isn't coming. The hardware is powerful enough to run 3D parametric solid modeling software optimized with a minimalist ui, but the OS is a phone OS and it shows. Even apples own native apps haven't been optimized for the large display. Wastes of space everywhere, commands buried under unnecessary taps upon taps. It's essentially a $1200 yellow pad.

Meanwhile the purely utilitarian surface pro 4 trundles along as a useful workstation replacement. I only wish Apple made something like it.

 

[apolloa]

To say that these estimates are "someone's guess" is to reduce an entire branch of economic analysis to rolling dice. Which is a gross simplification and more than a little presumptuous. There is actual data and analysis involved here. The numbers are obviously not exact, but a difference of some 400,000 units is a touch more than a rounding error.

Now, I get that you were confused by the way the article (and especially the title) were written. Which is why my last reply was an explanation of what the numbers actually were and where they were coming from.

What's more telling is your assumption that just because the Surface has been growing in popularity and the iPad line (as a whole) has been declining, that Microsoft has for sure been selling more Surface devices than iPad Pros you betcha boy. That, in contrast to the survey quoted in this article, is 'a complete guess NOT to be taken as a fact'. And considering the historical performance of the Surface line... well... it seems like a terribly uninformed assumption at that.

Reading the article on the front page there is nothing evident to back your claims up, please if you have a link to the full report that MacRumors has quoted then provide it. Because as it stands their is no factual or statistical information provided.
The historical performance of the Surface is growing sales, the iPad has been dropping sales for at least half a year if not longer as Apple have reported.
Nothing telling about it at all.

 

[farmboy]

The iPad Pro did not outsell the Surface, it's just the inner believe of some people at IDC.

You signed up just to deny, on the basis of your "inner believe", that the "inner believe" of someone else has no basis in fact. OK then.

 

[GeneralChang]

Reading the article on the front page there is nothing evident to back your claims up, please if you have a link to the full report that MacRumors has quoted then provide it. Because as it stands their is no factual or statistical information provided.
The historical performance of the Surface is growing sales, the iPad has been dropping sales for at least half a year if not longer as Apple have reported.
Nothing telling about it at all.

MacRumors, like good journalists, link to any article that they quote data from. It's in the first paragraph. But here it is again in case you still can't find it.

And I'm not talking about growth, I'm talking about total sales. The iPad has almost always been in the tens of millions since 2012 (they dipped to 9.8 million last year), while the Surface is hitting its all time high of reportedly just over a million and a half. Growth is great, and I'm glad Microsoft are seeing it in their Surface line considering the way their phone lines continue to flop around like an injured fish. But there is no historical reason to think the numbers reported by IDC are more than 400,000 units off.

 

[JackieInCo]

That's me: happy iPad Pro user, with no keyboard or pencil attached. Bought it for the much-bigger display alone: faster CPU and more memory are just gravy.

If I were to ever get an iPad Pro, it too would be because it was a bigger iPad. I would never need the pen or keyboard.

I have a Surface Pro 3 and the the only time I have ever used the pen was to capture areas of the screen for screen caps.

 

[btrach144]

i honestly do no understand why people keep comparing ipad pro and surface pro 4. ipad pro is far from being a pro product as it still runs ios. whereas suface runs a full desktop OS. They are two different devices aimed at different audiences.

maybe if ipad pro was running a hybrid osx id understand. but they are two very different tablets.

To be honest I think iPad pro only sold as much as it did because people are extremely loyal to the brand and just wanted a larger iOS experience. Not because it is a "pro" because there isnt anything pro about it other than a 100 stylus.

They're priced similar so I'd say it's fair to compare. MS includes a full OS and Apple includes iOS? I'd see that as another comparison point rather than a limiter to prevent comparison.

AKA, I have $999... what can I get from either offering? I want the best bang for my buck!

 

[69650]

If only Apple made a decent angled keyboard I wouldn't keep looking at the Surface as an alternative.

 

[Soccertess]

without a file management system, I would take a surface any day.

 

[bladerunner2000]

without a file management system, I would take a surface any day.

Bingo.

The fundamental reason anything iOS based will NEVER be a serious contender so as long as Apple continues to enforce these bone-headed 'features'. Who knows, maybe one day Apple execs will pull their heads out of their asses and implement what consumers NEED, nevermind want! The only question is; will it take them 30 years like it did with a 2 button mouse? Perhaps 20 years to have a cut/paste command to move files in the Finder? Or maybe close to 10 years to allow iPhone users select a different keyboard?

Ah well... one can dream, right?

 

[69650]

Completely agree, love mine - it's a sole windows machine in an OSX/iOS household, iPad never gets touched now!

I've got an iPad Pro, Air and Mini but I keep looking at the Surface and thinking that looks so comfortable to use. I haven't found an iPad keyboard that comes close. I shelled out for the iPad Pro keyboard which is just terrible. It makes me wonder whether anyone at Apple actually uses their own products. I should have known a flat keyboard would be uncomfortable to use. I've ended using my Keys To Go keyboard again with a packet of tissues underneath to prop it up to a more comfortable angle. Oh the joys of being an Apple user.

I was hoping the Surface Pro 4 would have a larger 14" screen so I could replace my old Windows laptop in the corner which I just can't throw away because OSX is still so limited in software options for business. The Surface is just so darn expensive for what is basically a standard Windows laptop in a tablet format but I'm still tempted.

 

[MacAddict1978]

I see the iPad Pro and Surface as two different types of products. This comparison is not apples to apples.

I agree. I also like how the article doesn't actualy state sales units for iPad pro of Surface, and simply states "shipped" units which are not units sold.

The 9 to 5 mac click bait article mac rumors poorly lifted and quoted doesn't either. All reliable data puts iPad pro sales at an estimated 2.4 million units for q4 (which the article couldn't pop that number in is beyond me).

Sales units for the surface are also not released, but during December MS had more online tablet sales than apple.

I love this site, but please don't share click bait articles that have no factual numbers behind the title claim. Sure, all iPad units (which is the only number the article cites... which includes ALL IPAD MODELS) are likely much higher, but model to model we still don't know. The surface is more pc than tablet.

 

[ThisIsNotMe]

A desktop OS, for practical definition. An OS that runs on x86 architecture.
The surface should be compared to computers that have x86 architecture.

Why? Its a faux argument that x86 or ARM make any difference.

A CPU or any other component is a tool, nothing more. The argument that x86 is the better tool is baseless.

 

[jkichline]

I was at NAMM which is one to the world's largest tradeshows in the music industry. Everyone that had an app ran almost exclusively on iOS and every booth had an iPad Pro. For musicians, the iPad Pro is a game changer. Probably one thing that would really influence the industry would be 3D Touch on an iPad which would enable a new paradigm in music production apps.

 

[5-0-5-0]

Good 'ol IDC. The same firm that said Windows Phone would overtake iOS in marketshare by 2015.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/230151/idc_windows_phones_to_overtake_iphone_ios_by_2015.html

Look at the source. No credibility.
[doublepost=1454394761][/doublepost]

Hmm...I can't do split screen multitasking or PIP on my iPhone. There are apps I use on my iPad that either don't exist for iPhone or I'd never want to use them on it. Not every app on the iPad is Instagram. And just because iOS on iPad doesn't have a file system doesn't mean it's just a blown iPhone. For many people who weren't doing complex things on their laptops an iPP could totally replace it.

Right.....The Surface is far more desktop oriented, the Pronwill get their, but isn't their yet. Tim Cook stated the iPad Pro will eventually replace your desktop. Keyword: Eventually.

 

[linuxcooldude]

Desktop OS on a tablet will always be a niche product. it was in 2001 when it was Windows XP on a tablet, it is now with the Surface Pro.

 

[Michael Goff]

I wonder how many iPad Pro users have contemplated a Surface Pro... and vice versa.
Or are the current iPad Pro users die-hard iOS fans?

I have a Surface Pro 3 and an iPad Pro. I bought the iPad Pro later than the Surface, obviously.

You know I honestly haven't been pricing them as I am not interested in one but after reading your post I went to the Apple online store. Yep, they're pretty expensive, especially since they don't have the 3D touch feature. That's why I'm not big on buying the first gen of the latest product. I can wait a while.

I can tell you that I don't think 3D Touch should ever be on an iPad.

 

[HenryDJP]

I can tell you that I don't think 3D Touch should ever be on an iPad.

I thought 3D touch was very well accepted. Why would it not be good on an iPad?