Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

The iPad is doomed and dead! R.I.P! D: D:

bensisko said:
If you're talking about manufacturers then yes - they've all shifted their focus from tablets to hybrids. This isn't out of a sense of 'where the market is going' as much as pure laziness. "Well, we can't complete with the iPad, so let's go back to our bread and butter, the laptop, slap a touchscreen on it and call it a hybrid."
Click to expand...
I disagree. With all of the work that went into the design and implementation of non-iOS tablets I think it is unfair to claim that they were lazy. Much of the success of iPad rests in the groundwork they laid with the iPhone. A ready-to-go app infrastructure is no small thing.

Apple leveraged their size to be able to order components in huge quantities at crazy-low prices. No other company could do that.



bensisko said:
Consumers
Click to expand...
bensisko said:
on the other hand aren't going wild over hybrids. It's not the "next big thing".
Click to expand...
Look at sales curves for hybrids... that is what consumers are shifting toward. You can dismiss the Surface line as a "failure" by comparing units sold against those of the iPad, but the trend is up. And Microsoft isn't the only one producing hybrids.



bensisko said:
So, then, what of iPad sales? It's actually pretty simple:
  • Kindle (and other cheap tablets)
  • New competition at the high-end (almost exclusively the Surface Pro, even here it's barely a dent)
  • Less of a desire to upgrade/hanging on to older models
  • The Second-hand market
  • Slow-down in Vertical adaptation
  • Novelty has worn out (or at least down)
Does that mean the end of the iPad?

Of course not. Apple will continue to make iPads as long as it makes Apple money. Even with a slowdown, iPads still make Apple a LOT of money. Remember, Apple is NOT other companies. They're not going to kill a money-making product just because some Wall Street people don't know a computer from a hole in their head.

We can safely say the "hype" phase is over. This isn't the end of the iPad, it's just the end of people buying an iPad because it's the "in" thing.
Click to expand...
Kindle Fire?!
stop-im-gonna-pee.jpg
 
I think that Apple should focus on expanding iOS capabilities. The iPad is far from dead imo. If you expand iOS and make it's functionality as close as the computer counterpart as possible, tablets and the iPad will end up almost replacing the computers. I think the iPad Pro has the hardware already for that, now they need to implement matching software. That's my humble opinion.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Billy95Tech, millydog, Loge and 2 others
DanButler16 said:
Sorry but What is FUD?? I am new on here lol.
Click to expand...
As others have pointed out, that list of links and articles you posted is like a who's who of Apple haters. And it's not that they even hate Apple so much as they love the money the make when they write crazy things about Apple. This happens year round, every day, every week, every month, earnings or no earnings. They've been predicting Apple doom since the 70s. It's just going to get worse and worse. Apple just announced 1 billion active devices. You can make a lot of money publishing click bait with that many users to tempt to click on your stuff.

The best thing to do is just not read it. Don't follow it, retweet it, share it, click on it, or anything else. Don't give them the satisfaction. They know what they're posting is ridiculous. They don't care. They just want the ad revenue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: imanidiot, Qbnkelt, aristobrat and 2 others
marmiteturkey said:
Reports of the iPad's death have been greatly exaggerated.

I wouldn't worry too much about market analysts' hysteria. The iPad has plenty of life left in it, it's just a market that's approaching saturation/maturity, and people do not upgrade that often.
Click to expand...

This^^^^

The reason iPad sales grew so fast is that they were affordable and so many people who never had one wanted one. Now that most people who wanted one have purchased one already, and Apple is making these devices so that they can be easily upgraded with each new iOS version, most people are going to keep theirs for several years. So now sales are slowing. But that does not mean they will not become the dominant form of computers in the future.

The reality is that there is no longer any reason to upgrade your phone or your tablet any more often than you would upgrade your computer or laptop. The shelf life of these devices is much longer than it was a few years ago.

I think that Apple is going to have to adjust to this reality and will no longer need to update iPhones and iPads every year. They can probably get away with updating them every other year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Billy95Tech, marmiteturkey, Ghost31 and 3 others
Really need multi-user mode... My wife and I share an iPad, and it's kinda terrible, except the fact that we love it. PARADOX :).

iMessage on it is mine.
FaceBook on it is hers.
I use the default mail app.
She uses the gmail app.
The bookmarks on the phone are mine. She has to deal w/ that. My photos too.
Instagram is hooked up to her account.

I just want multi-user mode to work like it does on a mac.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mrklaw and Billy95Tech
I'm not surprised. I bought Kindles Fires for Christmas last year. Nearly as good as an iPad and a ton cheaper.

Drop the prices to reasonable levels and see a sales spike. An 18 month old iPad Air 2 should not be $500.

The kids Kindles are a damn steal. So much free content. No nonsensical microtransactions.
 
Funny if you think about it.

Let's make a new computing product for people who don't really give a dam about computers.

Yayyy, they are buying them by the millions this is great.

Let's up the specs each year so they want to buy the new ones.

Oh dam, these people don't give a dam about computers ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: businezguy and Nausicaa
marmiteturkey said:
Reports of the iPad's death have been greatly exaggerated.

I wouldn't worry too much about market analysts' hysteria. The iPad has plenty of life left in it, it's just a market that's approaching saturation/maturity, and people do not upgrade that often.
Click to expand...

Approaching? The tablet market has already peaked and is in fact over saturated.
 
These articles are so laughable. One of them states that iPad shipments fell markedly to 49.6 million in 2015 while touting Surface growth in percentage figures but failing to give any data on actual units. In looking at other sites it appears that MS may have shipped around 4 to 5 million Surface units in 2015. I believe that particular article's title was (paraphrased) mobile outlook looked bleak except for Surface. That's absolutely fails in stunning fashion!

Yes, people are upgrading less. My iPad Air still does most of what I want it to do so I don't need to upgrade right now. However I will replace it at some point. I want split screen and touch ID but I can wait until they add 3D touch and a few other niceties before I upgrade.
The iPad is not dead. It will get better and continue to attract buyers but it's a mature market now. Apple has pulled a lot of folks into the ecosystem with the iPhone and that will continue to pay dividends.
Those articles are shoddy and hardly unbiased.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eltoslightfoot and Skika
Piggie said:
Oh dam, these people don't give a dam about computers ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah, true enough. But those people will eventually upgrade -- just not every year. So I'm thinking it's more like the auto industry, or refrigstors, or TVs, or, oh wait, computer industry!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Demo Kit
Surface Pro is the future, some of us have been trying to tell people this since the first gen and most just don't get it. People getting work done want a full computer in the iPad form factor (well, more the iPP form factor). The pen is a big bonus, but the real seller for the majority of users is legacy software and connectivity. Scientists and engineers are committing to the SP, not iPads. This is an Apple forum so everyone will shout "no Windows!!" but this is not the prevailing attitude outside this circle. Considering the strides MS is making with Surface, I think Apple is pretty late to the party.

The iPP is a great device for me, but I don't represent the average user at all. It's the best "pen and paper replacement" device on the market today, and the fact that it can do some normal computer stuff (awkwardly) is a bonus. If the next SP can match Apple's Pencil performance (SP4 does not) then I'll be back in that camp without a second thought because of the advantages of being able to run x86/64 legacy software on the most supported OS.

The iPad could be extremely successful in its current incarnation as a pure content consumption device, but the problem is that it's too expensive for this function. That visible $500+ price scares people off who just want an entertainment device and/or couch web browser. Remember that iPhones have been visibly $200 since they were introduced, and now that the full price is visible people are backing away and realizing they can't afford $650+ on an even smarter phone.

Edit Note: Just to be clear, the articles the OP linked are all standard clickbait nonsense. The iPad alone is a larger business than most other corporations. It's just on a downward trajectory at the moment and Apple needs to step up if they want to avoid losing out entirely. If they're serious about iOS as a productivity platform then they need to take steps to make that more realistic yesterday.
 
I still use my iPad 1 around the house. It still works. Might not run iOS 9, but I can still watch Netflix and Youtube..
 
  • Like
Reactions: Billy95Tech
sracer said:
I disagree. With all of the work that went into the design and implementation of non-iOS tablets I think it is unfair to claim that they were lazy. Much of the success of iPad rests in the groundwork they laid with the iPhone. A ready-to-go app infrastructure is no small thing.

Apple leveraged their size to be able to order components in huge quantities at crazy-low prices. No other company could do that.
Click to expand...

I think it's very fair. Microsoft made the Surface specifically because OEMs were lazy. When the surface launched, OEMs started panicking because the Surface design was so much unlike what they were building and they thought the Surface was going to eat the sales of their touch screen notebooks. Even today, there's very little imagination in non-Surface 'hybrids'.

sracer said:
Look at sales curves for hybrids... that is what consumers are shifting toward. You can dismiss the Surface line as a "failure" by comparing units sold against those of the iPad, but the trend is up. And Microsoft isn't the only one producing hybrids.
Click to expand...

Consumers aren't "shifting toward" hybrids, it's just that a lot of Notebooks have touchscreens and are considered "hybrids". Sure there are notebooks that don't have a touchscreen, but I think touchscreen will just be a feature included in Notebooks. Again, this doesn't mean masses of people are saying "I don't need a tablet because I have a touchscreen laptop" - some do, and maybe vertical markets are higher, but not consumers.

Also, I never said (nor would I say) the Surface is a failure - I don't think it is. Okay, "success" and "Failure" are VERY relative terms that have only have meaning when paired with a definition. Surface is a failure if the definition is "iPad Killer", but it's a Success by many other definitions.

For the record, I'm referring to OEMs as lazy, not the Surface.


sracer said:
Kindle Fire?!
Click to expand...

Yes, Kindle Fire!
The Kindle Fire certainly cuts into potential iPad sales, especially in the Mini category.
 
spaceballl said:
Really need multi-user mode... My wife and I share an iPad, and it's kinda terrible, except the fact that we love it. PARADOX :).

iMessage on it is mine.
FaceBook on it is hers.
I use the default mail app.
She uses the gmail app.
The bookmarks on the phone are mine. She has to deal w/ that. My photos too.
Instagram is hooked up to her account.

I just want multi-user mode to work like it does on a mac.
Click to expand...


good grief, just buy another one for her.
[doublepost=1453936838][/doublepost]
DanButler16 said:
Ok but what about the 9'7 inch iPads?? Do they have a place?? I really really hope soo as I think the 9'7 inch iPads are the PERFECT size for a tablet and offers the best of both worlds in portability and enough screen real estate and more importantly lots of computing power, to be honest for me personally the iPad Pro being at 12'9 inches is way way too big for me and it defeats the purpose of a tablet and on the other hand/side the 7'9 inch Mini is way to small for me and does not offer enough screen real estate!

As I said I think the 9'7 inch iPads are the PERFECT size for a tablet period!!!! :) :)
Click to expand...

Dan my lad, the iPad 9.7" is not goiny anywhere. Just wait when the air3 comes out you will have to have it and you will be buying your 4th iPad. Tim Cook and myself thank you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eltoslightfoot and Night Spring
I don't understand why Apple moved from a spring release for the iPad to a fall one. That never seemed to make sense to me.

By releasing a new iPad in spring, people who really want to upgrade will buy it and you'll see a surge in iPad sales during that time. Throughout the rest of the year, sales would decline, but then they'd pick back up in the fourth quarter when people buy them as Christmas gifts. That essentially gave Apple two quarters with high iPad sales. By changing the release date to fall, people are more likely to wait until Christmas to get one. After all, it's only a couple of months instead of three seasons.

It also didn't really make sense to move the iPhone release date to fall. Same issue as above.

Why would you release two product lines at the same time? When the iPhone and iPad come out at the same time, a lot of people are going to have to choose between the two, and the iPhone will win the majority of the time. Spread the launch dates out by at least a few months and give people enough time to save up some money before the next product comes out. Apple should go back to a spring release for the iPad and summer for the iPhone.
 
This is complete fail on so many levels

First, you realize there is a difference between death of SALES and death of USAGE right? Death of usage like Blackberry meaning no one is using it anymore, it's extinct. Versus death of sales meaning they arent selling any/many new units. Ie. hypothetically there could be 40 million iPad users currently and few to little sales- they are using their old models! The regular iPad hasn't been updated in over a year now and the Air to Air 2 wasn't a huge jump. The Air works just fine still. People are using their iPads from 3-4 years ago still too.

Second, sales are DECLINING not dead. That's ridiculous to say the iPad is dead. Oh no sales only fell to 40 million sold last year from 45 million the year before. What a tragedy Apple is dead stick a fork in them they're done. Compare that to other tablets and the iPad is still probably outselling them 5-10:1 even in this "slump."

I mean please, know what you're talking about. Get out of your mom's basement and learn something about economics and the real world.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eltoslightfoot, joelrzgn, Ghost31 and 1 other person
bensisko said:
The Kindle Fire certainly cuts into potential iPad sales, especially in the Mini category.
Click to expand...

This is like saying a safety razor cuts into your skin, especially in the first-layer category. I have played with the Fire, and it is fine for what it is (much like a $250 Chromebook), but it is no iPad.

A.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eltoslightfoot
Shanghaichica said:
I think the tablet market as a whole is in decline. The iPad is still the best selling tablet though. I think there isn't much Apple can do to rejuvenate iPad sales. It's just the way the market is going. People are choosing phablets over tablets, people are waiting for several years to upgrade their tablets. Also I think tablets have not been the PC killer they were touted to be when they first launched. The tablet market is a lot bigger than it was when thenipad first launched. Many people are happy to pick up bargain basement android devices rather than spend more money on the iPad. I think these are all factors which are contributing the decline of iPad sales.
Click to expand...
I agree.

I had an iPad 1, 2, and 3.... the iPad 3 is the last I bought and it still works, at least when I use it which isn't much lately.

I liked my iPads for reading news in the morning, playing games, video, etc. But since I have gone phablet it is "good enough" for reading news that I don't reach for my iPad anymore (not so when my iPhone had a 3.5" screen). As for video, all my TVs can access just about anything my iPad can so I usually just stream to a TV rather than use my iPad.

That said I still like it for karaoke. :D Seriously though, I don't feel I need a newer iPad. My iPad 3 still feels fine when I do use it.




Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back