Report: iPad Pro Popularity Cutting Into iPad Air and iPad Mini Sales

[arc of the universe]

two reasons why this macrumors article is totally credible.

1. iPad Pro is lighter in weight than the iPad Air

2. apple made a strategic marketing decision to only allow the iPad Pro to have the new iPad Pro（M4）Magic Keyboard.
the current iPad Air is left with the former version. the new Pro keyboard is much better all around.

i dont need the power of the iPad Pro. and i certainly dont want to pay the hefty price for it.
i have decided to wait for a year to take another look at the Air in 2025.
i think that apple will come out with a model of the new Magic Keyboard that fits the Air.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

My perhaps faulty interpretation of the charts are they are based on revenue but many of us are seeing them as unit volume. If so, let Apple make ONE unit out of platinum and throw in a day with Tim, etc priced at a high enough price and the one unit sale could crowd out all of the rest of the types in a chart like this.

My guess is that regular iPad is still most popular iPad by far based on units sold… which means more people have and use “the cheaper” iPads than the most expensive one.

I hear Mac Minis are the best selling Desktop Mac and MBair is the best selling Mac laptop by far but that can look less obvious when compared to other, pricier options by charting relative revenue… or relative profit.

Could someone draw a profit per unit sold comparison chart so it can look like the loaded Mac Pro completely dominates Mac sales? And the 6K monitor dominates vs. ASD? Etc. Find the right measure and anything can look like it rules.

 

[Velli]

I love my iPad Mini. Just the other day I was considering updating it since it is more than two years old now. Then it occured to me that I still own the latest version… in fact it is now the only Apple product I own which is the latest generation.

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

That comes as quite a surprise to me, given their cost! AU$600 for a 10th gen, $1000 for an Air, and $1700 for an 11" Pro!!! If you want a 13", it's $1300 and $2200 respectively!!!

Who has that kind of money for an iPad‽ I know iPads are really impressive devices, but those prices are obscene!

I still want one, but I'll have to buy a lottery ticket first.

 

[jlc1978]

My perhaps faulty interpretation of the charts are they are based on revenue but many of us are seeing them as unit volume.

It would be interesting to see the volume numbers. That would show if the total volume grew and which segments grew the most. Without those numbers, it’s hard to say if iPad Pros grew at the iPad’s expense or an increase in volume accounted for the revenue increase.

I suspect, if Mini sales keep falling it will be dropped from the lineup. At some point, it becomes to small of a market to warrant the costs of updating it.

 

[klasma]

I thought for sure that the regular iPad was the bestseller by some kind of significant margin. It's the most pad for the money by far.

People on a low budget probably tend to look more to Android tablets.

 

[jdawgnoonan]

I have the 13” M4 model and my other iPad is the Mini which I will replace when they update next. I wish they made a Mini Pro.

 

[JCCL]

Well of course they would, they launched recently with great fanfare, while the base iPad is what? 2 years old? Over time I expect both the base model and Air to pickup, once the hype for the Pros dies down a bit.

 

[zombierunner]

Apple needs to simplify the ipad lineup. It's a complete mess.

 

[klasma]

people tired of waiting for that Mini update

View attachment 2403991

Apparently you didn't live through the iPad mini 4 to 5 wait.

 

[StuBeck]

As far as iPad Air vs 11” Pro go, I guess this is purely due to OLED screens. Had iPad Air been switched to OLED too, I guess we would have seen different numbers in Air advantage.

For me its disappointing that they kept FaceID as a Pro only feature. I'm not spending $500 more for a new iPad Pro just for that feature, but it could potentially send me to getting a used M2 Pro instead of a new iPad Air.

 

[NapZzz]

The price of the iPad Pro is already unbearably high, which is really scary.

 

[collide007]

I had an iPhone 7 and loved it. My next
iPhone was the iPhone 13 Pro for $1200 and started using FaceID. Then FaceID broke 1.5 years into ownership and Apple wants $600+ to fix it. The phone had not been dropped and like all my Apple and tech devices is in pristine condition. I’m really annoyed that such a great feature is 1/2 the price of the phone to be repaired. I’m not sure if I will buy another IPhone given this experience and Apple’s push to use FaceID

That is very strange. I still have an iPhone 12 bought at release and I have no problems with FaceID. Did Apple confirm it is broken? What happens when it doesn’t work? Have you tried re-registering your face?

 

[wbeasley]

How does a 2024 M4 iPad Pro cut into mini sales?

The mini hasnt been updated in ages, lacks even an M chip.

It's great device but it's been unloved for too long.
That's what is hurting sales.

 

[Cervisia]

I do not think Apple will mind at all that the more expensive model is taking sales from cheaper models.

Another valid interpretation is that Air owners didn't see a reason to upgrade, while Mini owners can't upgrade, and the Pro's share only increased because they are losing revenue at the other models.

 

[collide007]

For me it's all about FaceID. I was a bit sceptical at first since I was pretty happy with TouchID on my iPhone but once I got my first FaceID-enabled iPhone I totally fell in love with that technology. I already had the latest iPad but from then on I was craving one with FaceID and as soon as the first iPad with FaceID came out, which was a Pro model obviously, I bought it and could never imagine having an iPad without FaceID now which, unless Apple changes tack, locks me into the Pro range now even though I don't really need the extra compute power, better screen etc.

I know that plenty of people prefer TouchID and I respect that but for me it's FaceID all the way.

I was the same, especially in winter when I no longer needed to take my gloves off. Only thing is, I can’t yet justify the extra cost just to get FaceID on my iPad so still hoping it comes to the Air. I often switch to my iPhone when using my iPad to do some tasks so I can use FaceID (like purchasing with Apple Pay). Annoying but works for now until either it comes to the Air or I find an extra £300 that doesn’t need spending elsewhere. The joys of adulthood!

 

[Remy149]

I thought for sure that the regular iPad was the bestseller by some kind of significant margin. It's the most pad for the money by far.

It’s one of those devices that people just buy as they need it. It probably jumps in sales during the holidays. The price point especially from 3rd party stores make it a good gift. Not to expensive but not seen ass cheap

 

[joelhinch]

iPad mini is double the price of iPad. It’s hard to justify. If it had better specs it would sell better. If it had better specs and was cheaper. Sales would double.

 

[Cervisia]

Based on what we see, it seems like (despite internet bloggers) people DO love iPadOS 😉

That's a really black-and-white take. I buy iPads because I need a tablet with a good pencil, but at the same time hate that the OS constrains the use of an otherwise great machine.

 

[Remy149]

I think Apple undervalues high refresh displays. The other iPads would sell more if they were 120hz, even if they weren’t OLED.

That said, I’m not sure Apple is very upset that they’re selling more of the expensive model.

The average consumer especially ones who don’t automatically gravitate to the pro products doesn’t care about refresh rates especially on a tablet.

 

[DWC23093]

iPad Pro models accounted for the majority of Apple's iPad sales in the June quarter, up from the same quarter a year ago, based on the latest report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP).

Apple updated the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models in May 2024 with the M4 chip, OLED display technology, and a thinner, lighter design. Pricing on the 11-inch OLED iPad Pro starts at $999, and pricing on the 13-inch OLED iPad Pro starts at $1,299.

In contrast, the "iPad" is Apple's low-priced mainstream iPad, last updated in October 2022 with a complete redesign, larger display, USB-C port, A14 Bionic chip, 12-megapixel camera, and more. The iPad starting price is $349, but the pricey M4 iPad Pro models are proving to be more popular, and even appear to have cut into iPad mini and iPad Air sales.

According to CIRP, in the June 2024 quarter, iPad Pro (both the 11-inch and 13-inch models) accounted for 43% of total iPad sales, an increase from 38% in the year-ago June 2023 quarter. Meanwhile, the iPad remained at 35% compared to the previous year. In the same time periods, iPad Air accounted for 12% of all iPad sales, down from 15% a year ago, and the iPad mini accounted for 10%, down from 12% in the June 2023 quarter.

It's worth noting that the iPad mini has not been updated by Apple since September 2021, yet the iPad Air was updated in May alongside the M4 iPad Pro.

Commenting on the figures, CIRP suggests early adopters are driving the strong iPad Pro sales: "As we've seen with many other Apple product launches, the first-acting consumers appear to have gravitated to the high-end, most expensive models available, in this case the iPad Pros." iPad users: Does that align with your own purchase decisions? Let us know in the comments.

Article Link: Report: iPad Pro Popularity Cutting Into iPad Air and iPad Mini Sales

I had planned to buy an iPad Air M2 when released, but after reviewing the specs, went with the prior generation of iPad Pro M2 when it went on sale.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

It would be interesting to see the volume numbers. That would show if the total volume grew and which segments grew the most. Without those numbers, it’s hard to say if iPad Pros grew at the iPad’s expense or an increase in volume accounted for the revenue increase.

I suspect, if Mini sales keep falling it will be dropped from the lineup. At some point, it becomes to small of a market to warrant the costs of updating it.

Like another poster offered, iPad Mini is my favorite iPad too. In fact, cellular iPad Mini with Buds and VOIP app doubles as my iPhone: "one device to rule them all." No iPhone- just iPad Mini.

I own the 6 and the 6 has been the 6 since it rolled out in about 2021. Anyone wanting "latest & greatest" Mini may have picked up the 6 in all the years that it has been THE iPad mini for sale now. If so, I wouldn't be surprised to see it appearing to own a shrinking chunk of either a current revenue or unit volume chart 3+ years after its release. I suspect THIS chart keys around the quarter (to work in the impact of M4 iPad), so it would make even more sense for a years old iPad to sell significantly less than a newly released, newly upgraded iPad probably measured in revenue.

I love the 6 and depend on it just like most love & depend on iPhone. I could put it towards just about having the "essential" tag. But I don't buy another 6 unless something destroys the one already purchased. So I can't contribute to any such chart in either revenue or volume other than the very first quarter 6 was released.

Should Apple refresh the 6 with a 7, I suspect any kind of apparent fading share by either measure would look quite different, when such a chart is redrawn a few months after its release... much like I would guess iPhone 15 trends could be made to look bleak going into the very predictable launch of 16 window that everyone knows. Does that mean iPhone is fading as a product people want to buy & own? Or is it in the last weeks ahead of a new one and most interested now know to stand by to either get the 15 for less when the 16 takes over or wait for the 16s improvements only weeks from now?

Charts & stats can be massaged to imply anything. They always need scrutiny & context. Turn on ESPN right now and within any given hour you'll hear that an all-time record was realized in something. How can so many records be achieved? Pay attention to how it's framed: "the most/fastest/best <whatever> on a Wednesday bobblehead giveaway night, with rain to the east, a lame duck president, and an odd-number iPhone for sale that includes paint shade options of pink & yellow being available at the same time. Put enough qualifiers on some stat and I can be the record-breaking athlete in the news tomorrow. Reminds me of a classic Wall Street goodie: "Excluding certain costs, this was a highly profitable quarter for <company>". Yes, when you can isolate and exclude costs, ANY business can have a highly profitable quarter. Exclude all costs and it will be a record margin quarter too.

Charts are interesting but there's often more than meets the eye. As the old saying goes, the devil is in the details.

 

[theluggage]

My perhaps faulty interpretation of the charts are they are based on revenue but many of us are seeing them as unit volume.

This "data" is from CIRP - the same people behind the "data" that shows that the $7k Mac Pro is outselling the $1300 iMac, and the MacBook Pro is outselling the MacBook Air.

Both would be consistent with the figures being based on revenue rather than unit sales.

However, given the report doesn't bother to state such a fundamental detail - nor does it give any details of how the figures were obtained, or what the confidence intervals may be - a much simpler conclusion is to throw the whole thing on the "hogwash until proven otherwise" pile. If it's based on a small survey, the changes might not even be statistically significant... (Mind you - that applies to 93.72% of all data published in the mass media).

 

[Spock]

This is exactly what they want, who better to cut into non pro iPad sales than Apple? They did the same thing with the iPod and the iPhone when they said if anyone was going to beat the iPod it would be Apple and they were right. The 10th gen. iPad cut corners and the mini has not been updated for a long time and the price point of the Air is close enough to the Pro when you up the storage to match.

 

[iphoneMiniWanter]

delete this. I want a new mini (just bought pro 11" lol)