iPad Sales May Decline to Lowest Quarterly Level Since 2011

[gugy]

Well not surprising.
I am writing this on my iPad 4 and my son inherited my iPad 2. Both work phenomenally well. So I had not compelling reasons to update.
I am considering the IPad Pro because of the screen size but will easily keep it for many years. Add to the mix the larger iPhones, I can see why people skip or keep their devices much longer.
iPad hit the saturation point. They need a special OS IMO to differentiate from iPhones.

 

[BuffaloTF]

Seems that the market is demanding more out of tablets now, keyboard, USB inputs, docking options, and expect a full OS.

I don't see the market demanding that at all, quite the opposite actually.

Dirt cheap, utter garbage Android tablets are taking the market share from Apple and increasing the size of the pie. But the Surface series, which is really quite awesome, is carving it's own piece out of the pie where none existed.

It's really hard to compete with a Kindle 5-pack for 200 dollars... or a buy one get one free QVC special for 50 dollars.

All that said, getting back to your original point - it may be best to ignore the market demands, and move towards Microsoft's model... which is definitely the most premium in both cost and capability.

 

[jamezr]

I don't see the market demanding that at all, quite the opposite actually.

Dirt cheap, utter garbage Android tablets are taking the market share from Apple and increasing the size of the pie. But the Surface series, which is really quite awesome, is carving it's own piece out of the pie where none existed.

It's really hard to compete with a Kindle 5-pack for 200 dollars... or a buy one get one free QVC special for 50 dollars.

All that said, getting back to your original point - it may be best to ignore the market demands, and move towards Microsoft's model... which is definitely the most premium in both cost and capability.

I think Apple tried that with the iPad Pro......but i don't think the sales have been what they expected.
You have to admire what MS did with the Surface lineup. It took them a couple versions to get it right but the SP4 is a great device.

 

[62tele]

First, why would this surprise anyone? The line hasn't been refreshed in almost 18 months. Tablet sales plateaued years ago. It's mostly a replacement/upgrade game now and there is little reason to upgrade if your current device does what you need. Folks don't replace PC's every year so why would they replace Tablets every year?

Apple's done the same with the iPhone for 7 years. The iPhone's next.

iPhone sales may slow down but it won't be due to stale hardware or operating system. It will be that people begin realizing you don't have to upgrade as often. My iPhone 6 does everything I need it to do. If I don't get the iPhone 7 it won't be that I want an Android or because the iPhone lacks something. The question is whether people will continue to upgrade every couple of years to get every new feature. The American consumer is fickle but we love our cars and apparently we love our phones.

I've recently purchased on iPad Air 2, and won't see a reason to upgrade it for at least 3-4 years. With the lack of a giant leap from one iPad to the next these days, and the relatively light usage I use it for (occasional games and web browsing), I don't see a need to spend $750 on a new iPad every year or two.

Winner winner, chicken dinner!! Same here. I would like touch ID and split screen but it's not worth it to me to upgrade for them. When they add 3D touch I might be tempted. Right now my Air works great and does what I need. I could almost get away without a home computer. In fact, if they ever develop a more professional featured recording App for iPad (like Logic) I might do away with having an iMac.

 

[samcraig]

Pretty sure another reason is that a lot of people realize they don't need a super powered tablet. For many - a Kindle Fire tablet, Samsung, etc with lower specs and a much lower price is sufficient. Especially for families. iPads could be (arguably) the best and also the ecosystem - but at the end of the day, price is a factor

 

[AppleScruff1]

We are entering the post tablet era.

 

[0098386]

I haven't bothered upgrading my iPad Retina from years ago. It just does everything I need from a tablet device. I want an iPad Pro and Pencil... but the pricing just seems wrong (why not bundle the stylus with it?).

I know it's against Apple's concept of selling us services as a replacement to low storage, but I'd love a high capacity iPad that can store all my media all at once, accessible without an internet connection. I'd buy a 512gb iPad.

 

[1Zach1]

The success of Chromebooks says you're wrong about that. And the iPad is already a fantastic capable device in most ways... but there are several persistant problems: lack of multiple logins, artificially imposed restrictions on pointer input devices, clunky multitasking, and low base storage. A $600 9.7" iPad with 128GB of storage, the option of bluetooth mouse input, and a redesigned multitasking experience, would make it the "laptop replacement" many of us have been waiting for. But they won't do this, because it would bury half the Mac lineup.

And the answer is not a Microsoftian hammer-to-kill-a-fly of "OSX on a tablet". The Surface is a horrible user experience for me because it runs Windows 10. People like iOS, and vastly prefer iOS apps to desktop apps. Check sales and usage numbers if you don't believe me. Power users, scientists, businesses, etc are not "the market" for iPads, or even Macs if you look at it.

I don't actually want OSX on an iPad, but I don't want iOS either. I want some hybrid of both that allows better use of the screen and inputs, without going full blown OS. I do with Apple (or someone else? I don't know if the Smart Connector is this smart) would allow monitor and mouse inputs.

 

[maflynn]

Chromebooks + new inexpensive Winbooks + education = a lost opportunity for Apple and iPads. Apple was positioned in a sweet spot for education. That turd show in LA and the prohibitive pricing didn't help Apple at all. Especially the pricing.
Couple that with the lifespan of a typical iPad (I still have the original and an iPad2) and you have a product that is a victim of it's own success. Larger phones didn't help either.

The iPad seems to a solution to a problem that no longer exists for a lot of people.

Definitely, at one point my daughter's school system was going to be giving out iPads to the students. Now they're handing out Chromebooks instead.

 

[AFEPPL]

Problem for me is no matter how much you try it's never a replacement for a laptop. Therefore it just becomes another thing to carry and maintain. I can't see I'm going to buy another iPad no matter what they do with it short term. It's fine as an occasional toy to browser the web, maybe pay a bill or check the odd email and to watch a movie on the aircraft, but anything more than 5mins trying to type with the screen and I'm reaching for something else. Plus multitasking sucks.. even copy paste between browser windows is a complete pain and loads of page reloads.

 

[Wowereit]

What are people doing with their iPads?
Browsing the web?
Watching movies?
Answering mails?

There is no need for upgrading.

 

[BuffaloTF]

I think Apple tried that with the iPad Pro......but i don't think the sales have been what they expected.
You have to admire what MS did with the Surface lineup. It took them a couple versions to get it right but the SP4 is a great device.

They did. And from everything I've seen, they did it well. The Pencil seems to be very well-liked, and reviews have been favorable. But their scope is also pretty narrow, whereas Microsoft's is broad... and at that convergence point between mobile and desktop, Microsoft is doing an excellent job at blurring the lines, while Apple is just doing "good."

The iPad (and the iPhone) have always benefitted from the ingenuity of third-party accessories to expand the functionality, but Microsoft is largely giving it to you already. It'll be interesting to see what their lessons learned are for a follow-up down the road. It appears that iPads are shifting to 18-month refreshes, so that answer will be a long time coming.

 

[Keerock]

Apple killed this device with such shortsighted and outdated price point and storage, no innovation in input method (Apple pen too little too late) and no expandability (a single lightning connector limits potential drastically), $500/16GB for 5 straight years, really?

So you are describing many Android tablets and the Microsoft Surface line, etc.

They are relatively cheaper, have multi connectors, pen inputs, expandability, storage expansion, more...

So if Apple killed the device because it didn't include their competitor's features, why are they the category leader? Shouldn't Microsoft be absolutely crushing Apple here? Shouldn't Samsung tablets dominate?

That said, I agree on the price point for the lowest storage levels is poor. Apple should never have continued producing 16GB as their base models.

 

[dr34mc4st3r]

The ball is in apple's court to differentiate iPads with a great OS and mind blowing hardware features

 

[BruceEBonus]

Microsoft and Samsung are catching up with equally as good if not better products that Apple resizes and recolours (instead if innovates) now. Less than a week the Galaxy S7 will be announced. I think 2016 is the year the competitors must capitulate on Apples laziness over the past three years that nobody yet has cottoned on to as stagnation. Rumours have it that the S7 isn't going to be massively different to the S6. So if Samsung have 'got lazy' too then it'll be up to MS to do the overtaking. It's too wide a shot to predict. 2016. Make or break. For the big three. ("Wow. Profound statement, man!"-Bill Gates)

 

[delegagtor]

My 2012 3rd-generation iPad (first with retina display, I believe) does everything I need a tablet to do. Despite the apparent attempts by Apple to produce OS updates that slow it down and add bloatware I can't delete, I have no reason to replace it.

 

[TheHateMachine]

My hospital was handing out iPads with every Desktop/Laptop to new Admins, Managers and Directors but we started handing out an imaged Surface Pro 3 with a dock and monitors instead of the iPad and HP gear now. We haven't ordered a new iPad in about a year and some change.

 

[sofila]

Well these are good news for us customers. Maybe Apple will have some incentive to improve user experience, may it be on hardware side, software or just price/quality factor.
I think that bloating old hardware with new software updates won't pay in the long run.
And as a "consumption" device is too close to the outside world. Too many workarounds needed to get files in and out of that slate

 

[jamezr]

They did. And from everything I've seen, they did it well. The Pencil seems to be very well-liked, and reviews have been favorable. But their scope is also pretty narrow, whereas Microsoft's is broad... and at that convergence point between mobile and desktop, Microsoft is doing an excellent job at blurring the lines, while Apple is just doing "good."

The iPad (and the iPhone) have always benefitted from the ingenuity of third-party accessories to expand the functionality, but Microsoft is largely giving it to you already. It'll be interesting to see what their lessons learned are for a follow-up down the road. It appears that iPads are shifting to 18-month refreshes, so that answer will be a long time coming.

Great points about the feature sets. Apple is relying on third party solutions to add features. But that adds to the overall cost and price points. MS took another route (out of necessity) and added a lot of features already baked into the device. The SP line up has expandability with more ports and storage and the benefit of the file system with the desktop OS.

 

[BMcCoy]

Don't write-off Apple just yet....

Wouldn't you just love a quick look around the design lab at Apple HQ..
This is a company that knows how to make products that a lot of people buy.

 

[maflynn]

The ball is in apple's court to differentiate iPads with a great OS and mind blowing hardware features

Yes it is, but so far that hasn't exactly happened. This trend didn't occur over night and Apple has continued to see its iPAd sales erode. So far we have only gotten a tablet that borrowed heavily from Microsoft's Surface Pro. While is a nice product the iPad Pro isn't exactly mind blowing since MS already did it.

 

[jbachandouris]

I sold my Air 2 as I rarely used it. Even watching video was better on my rMBP.

We'll see how I feel in March...

 

[jamezr]

My hospital was handing out iPads with every Desktop/Laptop to new Admins, Managers and Directors but we started handing out an imaged Surface Pro 3 with a dock and monitors instead of the iPad and HP gear now. We haven't ordered a new iPad in about a year and some change.

Exactly what my work started doing. They were issuing laptops and iPads to the VPs and directors and above. The VPs and directors wanted portability and functionality both devices offered but had to carry 2 devices. Now they started to issue SP4s and monitors and the feedback has been very good so far. The VPs and directors all love having one device they can do presentations on and then dock at their desk when they are done.

 

[RogueWarrior65]

Maybe it's because people are realizing that the iPad has specific uses but it's as comfortable, for want of a better word, to use than a laptop. Apple's laptop sales are notably up. Now bring back the 17" MBP and I'll be happy.

 

[brewmonkey]

I've been using an iPad 4 for over three years and have been pretty happy with it for what it does. That said, a few factors are pushing me in the direction of replacing it not with another iPad, but rather getting the next rMBP w/Skylake instead:

1. Too limited by the OS (it often feels like I'm playing with a child's LeapPad compared to what I need it to do).
2. Burned by no support on 32-bit devices for very useful features (ad blocking, night shift, etc.), despite those features working flawlessly when I install self-compiled versions with Xcode. It just seems we are far more susceptible to 'planned obsolescence' on iOS vs. OS X.
   
3. The weight of Mac laptops keeps racing downwards so much that I no longer mind the extra weight to get infinitely more utility out of my device.

So then, considering the point of this article, I'm curious how many others may be thinking similarly along these lines and shifting away from tablet life?