Yesterday announced financial results Apple has made various headlines over the past quarter. The Californian firm generated the most revenue in its history, sold the most iPhones, and also did well in watches and computers. However, one segment continues to gasp for breath in vain – iPads have fallen for the third year in a row, so logically the most question marks hang over them.
The numbers speak for themselves: in the first fiscal quarter of 2017, Apple sold 13,1 million iPads for $5,5 billion. It sold 16 million tablets a year ago during the usually strongest three holiday months, 21 million a year earlier and 26 million a year earlier. Within three years, the number of iPads sold in the holiday quarter was cut in half.
The first iPad was introduced by Steve Jobs seven years ago. The product aimed at the free space between computers and phones, which at first nobody believed much, experienced a meteoric rise and reached its peak just three years ago. The latest iPad numbers are certainly not good, but the main problem is that Apple's tablet succeeded very well too quickly.
Apple would definitely be happy if the iPads became the second iPhones, whose sales continue to grow even after ten years and represent for Tim Cook and co. almost three quarters of all income, but the reality is different. The market for tablets is completely different from that of smartphones, it is closer to computers, and in recent years the situation in the entire market has also changed, where phones, tablets and computers compete with each other.
iPads are under pressure from all sides
Tim Cook likes and often talks about the iPad as the future of computers, or computing technology. Apple portrays iPads as machines that should sooner or later replace computers. Steve Jobs already talked about something similar seven years ago. For him, the iPad represented above all a form of how computer technology could reach an even larger mass of people, because it would be completely sufficient for most people and much easier to operate than computers.
However, Jobs presented the first iPad at a time when there was a 3,5-inch iPhone and a 13-inch MacBook Air, so a 10-inch tablet really seemed like a logical addition to the menu. Now we are seven years later, iPads are being pushed "from below" by the large iPhone Plus and "from above" by the ever more compact MacBook. In addition, iPads also eventually grew to three diagonals, so the difference visible at first glance was erased.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for Apple tablets to find a place in the market, and although they continue to be sold 2,5 times more than Macs, the trend outlined above has certainly not yet begun to replace computers in a big way. According to Cook, although demand for iPads continues to be very strong among people who are buying their first tablet, Apple must first solve the fact that many existing owners often have no reason to replace models that are several years old.
The iPad will last for many years
It is the replacement cycle, which represents the time when a user replaces an existing product with a new one, that makes iPads much closer to Macs than iPhones. Related to this is the aforementioned fact that iPads peaked three years ago. Since then, a huge percentage of users had no reason to buy a new iPad at all.
Users usually change iPhones (also due to obligations with operators) after two years, some even earlier, but with iPads we can easily observe double or higher deadlines. “Customers trade in their toys when they are old and slow. But even old iPads aren't old and slow yet. It's a testament to the longevity of the products," he remarked analyst Ben Bajarin.
Many customers who wanted an iPad bought an Apple tablet just a few years ago, and there was no reason to change from the 4th generation iPads, older models of the Air or Mini, because they are still more than enough for what they need. Apple tried to reach a new segment of customers with iPad Pros, but in the total volume it is still a marginal group against the so-called mainstream, which is symbolized especially by the iPad Air 2 and all its predecessors.
Proof of this is the fact that the average price for which iPads were sold decreased in the last quarter. This means that people mainly bought cheaper and older machines. The average selling price rose slightly last year after the introduction of the significantly more expensive 9,7-inch iPad Pro, but its growth did not last.
Where now?
Complementing the series with "professional" and larger iPad Pros was certainly an interesting solution. Users and developers alike are still exploring how to effectively use the Apple Pencil, and the potential of the Smart Connector, which is exclusive to the iPad Pro, has yet to be fully developed. Either way, the iPad Pro won't save the entire series by themselves. Apple has to deal primarily with the middle class of iPads, represented by the iPad Air 2.
This can also be one of the problems. Apple has been selling the iPad Air 2 unchanged since the fall of 2014. Since then, it has focused more or less only on iPad Pros, and so it has practically not even given customers the opportunity to switch to a new, improved machine for a few years.
For most users, it makes no sense to switch to the more expensive iPad Pro, because they simply won't use their functions, and their iPad Air and even older ones serve more than well. For Apple, the biggest challenge now is to bring an iPad that can appeal to the masses, so that it can't just be about little things like increasing the storage like last year.
Therefore, in recent months there has been talk of Apple preparing a completely new form of "mainstream" iPad, the logical successor to the iPad Air 2, which should bring a roughly 10,5-inch display with minimal bezels. This kind of change should probably be the beginning of Apple getting existing customers to buy a new machine. Although the iPad has come a long way from the first generation to the second Air, it is not that fundamentally different at first glance, and the Air 2 is already so good that even a slight improvement of the internals will not work.
Of course, it's not just about looks, but it's clear that it's often the driving force behind replacing the old with the new. Next, it will be up to Apple how it envisions the future of its tablets. If it really wants to compete more with computers, it should probably focus a lot more on iOS and features specifically for iPads. There is often criticism that iPhones get most of the news and the iPad lacks, even though there is huge room for improvement or moving the operating system.
“We have exciting things in store for iPad. I'm still very optimistic about where we can take this product ... so I see a lot of good things and hope for better results," Apple CEO Tim Cook tried to reassure investors in a conference call about bright tomorrows. Otherwise, he could not say too many positive things about iPads.
As for the most talked about last quarter, Apple is said to have underestimated the interest and because of problems with one of the suppliers, it was unable to sell as many iPads as it could have. Additionally, due to insufficient inventories, Cook does not expect the situation to improve significantly in the coming quarter. That's why he spoke outside of the current quarters to convey something positive, so we can only expect when the new iPads will arrive.
In the past, Apple presented new tablets in the spring and fall, and according to the latest reports, both variants are in play. However, sooner or later, this year could be quite crucial for iPads. Apple needs to rekindle interest and attract new users or force existing ones to switch.
That's right, I'm happy to replace the iPhone after two years, while the iPad lasts longer…
Like the iPhone doesn't last much longer? ;) and let's ask ourselves why everyone doesn't replace the iPad sooner - the innovation compared to iPhones is minimal.
It will last, but I would like to treat myself to a new model and use the innovations. And the original phone will serve another family member for years to come. But what needs to be upgraded on the iPad? I don't miss anything there.
What is so bad and scary that someone these days makes a device that serves users well for years and they don't need to change it?
Everyone fears it because it blows holes in the bubble of today's world, but at the same time everyone longs for it because somewhere inside they feel it should be.
It is bad because the motto of today's world is growth and growth, more and more... All corporations today are based on this.
After three years, I would like to replace the air with a newer one. I hope they will introduce the new product in the spring. And that the exciting thing will be something other than USBC. She excited reliably on the MacBook. ;-)
I would also change it after 4 years and according to the Aira2 sales, it looks like it will be presented in the spring ;)
Totally agree, I had an iPad Mini 2 until now, because it was the first iPad with Retina and there was no reason to change it at all, but the opportunity came and the iPad Pro 12,9 appeared. I'll keep the Ipad Mini until it works, it's perfect for traveling, for reading books, sometimes movies, and I think it should have been used for that too, in any case, the Pro is great, but that size isn't for everyone anymore, and I'm not even talking about the price... I don't even know where include it, because "professional tool" is a strong word. Apple should do something about it, I don't know how to say it, to separate iPads a little more from iPhones and bring them closer to Macs. For now, let anyone say what they want, it's just an enlarged iPhone and that's bad. The fact that I can draw or write something on it does not make it a "super worker". I think that iPads have the greatest potential of all Apple products, but someone either doesn't know it or knows it and doesn't want to move it anywhere.
This is not written through the eyes of a fanatic, but an ordinary Apple user. Sometimes it just occurs to me here or at letemsvet, that if Apple gave a price of 300000 for hardware, and 250000 for an Apple TV subscription, then the editors would write that it's great, and that it's right. You need to open your eyes a bit, boy, because the Pro from which I am writing will decide the price of 25 thousand. no, and if it happened 16-17, it would be against the customer's fair. It's just that they sometimes say that they make us bullies, and those recent "news" that are sometimes 5-6 years old as competitors are ridiculous to me. They are able to say that they even invented the car, in any case it will probably be the only product from Apple that I will not buy, because according to their policy it will cost 2000000 euros, and the fact that I will shine lights on it will be "revolutionary".
*even the car because they invented the car...
I went from mini 2 to mini 4 because of 2GB of RAM.
The first iPad with retina was the iPad3
"even though they continue to contribute more than twice as much to Apple's coffers as Macs"
Well, if I look at the graph in your previous article, I see something completely different there.
http://jablickar.cz/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Q1_2017-segments.png
iPads just sell more units than Macs, but the margin per unit is much lower on the iPad for obvious reasons (because the Mac is much more expensive). In addition, the number of units sold continues to decline year-over-year, so the iPad looks like it will soon become Apple's least profitable piece of hardware, if it isn't already today.
And as for the point of the article, Apple has already figured out "what's next for them" with iPads. Already last year. He wrote "Pro" for them and made them more expensive, which you write yourself. It's a clear effort to compensate for fewer units sold with a higher margin. However, a further decline in sales cannot stop it, and neither will the allegedly planned cheaper iPad. The iPad itself, from a product point of view, is going where the Mac is, it will drop to a certain +/- stable sales and that's it, the boom has already passed, the market has become saturated.
Thanks for the note, the figure about twice as many was about units sold, not revenue, we've already corrected it in the text.
That's how people would change their iPhones after longer periods of time. The thing is, while iPad/MacBook is perceived by most people (not tech enthusiasts or would-be geeks) as a useful thing on which to do something or watch a movie in the evening, the iPhone is a fashion accessory for most people. They also change the design much more often, so older models become much more visibly outdated. I believe most people don't change iPhones because of features, but because of fashion and social status.
I'm not surprised at such a drop in iPad sales when Apple couldn't prepare a new iPad Air or iPad mini in 2 years. They currently have a 2 and a half year old processor and would need even more RAM. I will probably get the last iOS update next year in the fall, when iOS 12 comes out and then it's over. It's not worth buying them.
iPad Pros have a year and a half old processor. They won't pay for that price. And I'm missing real professional applications that use the Apple Pencil.
iPad will never replace macbook air either. I'm still using an iPad 2 from 2011 with the latest iOS 9.3.5 running on it, but I'd love to go back to iOS 6.1.3, which runs faster on it.
The increase in mac sales for the quarter compared to Q1 2016 is ridiculous. Apparently there were most pre-orders for macbooks with a touchbar :-) Probably because it took 3 weeks for them to arrive in stores and even then there were few of them in stores.
The iPad can hardly be a professional tool when Apple's philosophy is that the iPad is like a giant phone that can't make calls, not a smaller laptop with a touchscreen. (My opinion.) Until there is a reasonable SW running there, the developers will screw it up. After all, even such a stupid thing as changing the background color of a Keynote slide is not possible in iOS. Likewise, the pricing policy of apps, is it better to buy an expensive full-featured app, or (iOS limits) a hackneyed pasquil for a third of the price? Worse, both, since a lot of people have a desktop as well?
I have both an iPhone and a Mac, but the iPad seems to me to be the best product from Apple. I've been using an iPad 4 since 2012 and haven't needed to change yet. But they'll probably end software support this year and I'll be considering a newer model. So far, the iPad Air2 works best for me, but the latest iOS will be there for a maximum of two years. And I want a tablet again for the next 4 to 5 years. With the iPad Pro, I don't see what's good about it. That it is more powerful than Air2? That would be Air3 too. And the Pro 12″ could easily have been Air3+. I think it's just an excuse to make it more expensive. So I'm eagerly anticipating what they'll come up with this year, but I'm a little worried that it'll just be an overpriced successor to the "Pro" model.
I read a very similar article this morning on imore.com by Rene Richie...the similarity is purely coincidental?
For a model with the nickname "Pro", I would expect the possibility to program in xCode and support for multiple users. Otherwise, I don't miss anything on the iPad.
It would be really convenient to program on an iPad... Maybe as a punishment... :-)
I have been programming on the iPad regularly for a long time - via virtual stations, external keyboards.
Otherwise, I usually go to Macbook Air 11″.
What is wrong with the iPad 12″???
Oops, that was written by a local troll, DusanK.
How about a gold thin font on a white background? :-D Mantra! ;-)
So I can't imagine programming on the iPad either.
Maybe a little hello world-type chewing at home (I'm exaggerating), but not really serious programming of anything.
Just because you can't imagine something doesn't mean it doesn't exist or that someone else can't. I've been programming professionally for over ten years and I can do it on the iPad too. Unfortunately, only remotely via virtual stations. Unfortunately, I only have 9.7″. But it goes. Of course, it is also more comfortable for me with the 27″ monitor. But somehow I don't carry it with me everywhere.
If you don't like vanilla ice cream, will you also argue that vanilla ice cream is not even sold?? If a six-foot-tall guy can't get into a Fiat 500, does that mean you can't drive in that car??
Guys, don't be so limited…
Man, don't be a narrow-minded person who can't accept other people's opinions. The fact that you program professionally on an iPad does not mean that everyone can do it or that it is suitable for everyone.
This is not about whether I "accept" a point of view or not (this is a discussion; not an arbitral tribunal!), but about what a tool labeled "Pro" (doesn't) enable. That's short for "professional." That is suitable for the performance of a profession. I am writing that I would like to be able to program in xCode on the iPad Pro; and you are writing me here about it "without accepting my opinion", that it would be a punishment or suitable for amateurs of the "Hello world" type.
->> The fact that the functionality is not suitable for someone is my ass. So you simply don't use it (how many people don't even use a calculator on iOS; is this an argument why not even put a calculator in the system?). No one is forcing you to do this.
->> The lack of functionality is already limiting.
Can't you see the difference?
Look, I don't understand this either, the ipad as such can fart and you actually confirm it here (external keyboards and some stations), so why does it do this? just to prove to yourself that it can be done? because the reason why most people here, including me, can't imagine it is that it is much better to have a laptop?. the workflow you described is actually scratching your right ear with your left foot... nothing wrong with the tablet...
Sry, but Dženyza's classic: “Oh! – Mine! – God!??” :-D
If you had at least read the whole thing, you "tablet freaks", you would have read that "I usually use a Macbook Air". Did I ever argue that a laptop is better for programming?? :D
Yes, you mention a would-be-disadvantage, which is actually an advantage. External keyboard. Because, unlike a laptop, the iPad has a meaningfully usable keyboard on the display. The fact that I also use an external keyboard does not mean that I drag it everywhere (you just guessed that), nor that it could not be done without it. When it is nearby, you can use external, when it is not, you can use virtual in the system.
You obviously don't understand virtual stations, but you have to comment, right? ;-)
Why am I doing this?
Because I don't take my laptop with me everywhere. :-O
Why maybe??? Hello!
If I said something, you pushers of the unsaid, and I still say it, the only thing I miss on the iPad is xCode, the possibility of multiple users and a 12″ screen.
Where do you see any confirmation of the nonsense that the iPad can fart here?? :D
On the contrary, the iPad can do so much that it can be used for practically any question that you would like to solve on a computer, and you can also take it with you everywhere. You just have to be ready. I use both Windows, Ubuntu and MacOS on my iPad.
The fact that you can't imagine it speaks more about your abilities than about the impossibility of execution...
PS: I've noticed (a long time ago also at other commentators) that there are so many "real" Apple enthusiasts on Apple enthusiast sites...! :-D :-D
The discussions are really interesting, even if some of the discussants cannot maintain a certain level and attack the others one sentence at a time.
Is it Czech nature?! Or something else?
As everyone has their own opinion, so everyone has their own work style/needs. It also depends on what exactly a person does, concrete programming is not the same as programming. Of course, some people here will probably not understand.
To those virtual machines. As far as I know, the virtual PC cannot be started directly on the iPad. I know that it will probably be a slovak book. By the sentence "I use Windows, Mac OSX..." on the iPad, do you mean that you connect to them from the iPad, even if it is running on your Macbook air, in the cloud or another hw?
I admit. Sometimes something can irritate me a lot, especially when I'm doing something calmly and calmly, and when I write that I imagine direct functionality; and someone writes to me that it would be a punishment, unimaginable or only for amateurs like "Hello world". And these are commenters that I have been observing for a long time, what kind of nonHateFree comments they have towards other enthusiasts of Apple products. It will pass.
Jj That would probably be a play on words. Specifically, I use iTeleport (connection to a running computer - Win, Ubuntu, MacOS) and Citrix receiver (connection to a remote server / you can say "cloud" - Win, various configured desktops/stations).
Are you a student programming for your ass under the desk at school? Do you have a computer running somewhere at home or a very heavy air conditioner that no longer fits under the bench and you control the entire universe from your tablet? Because, given that you are calm enough to use the keyboard on the display when programming, it must be something like this, because if you used it for a living on HPP, then we are not dealing with something so inconvenient here... otherwise virtual stations can be understood in different ways, I also have to test something here and there on windows, but there are also other virtualizations...
I no longer answer stupid questions. The information is already described. You keep asking the same thing over and over.
hmm so he said suj and you suj discussed about it, right? There is an opportunity here, someone will use it and someone will look for ways not to use it
In the early days of iPads, not many people understood how to edit photos on it, just one person can do that and the other person can do this :)
Dear Mr. Tomáš Čech. First of all, calm down and respect your words, I'm not scolding you for being retarded here, even though in this case you certainly deserved it, because it would describe your reactions exactly.
Try to read after yourself where and how often you write about the golden thin font on a white background. And then think about what others must think of such a debater/troll.
But since you got in touch, I edited the original text...
It has always been Apple's prerogative that their products last significantly longer without the need to change to a newer version.
I would be very interested in how you use the iPad. I have an older macbook, I have a kindle and a cell phone. What is the iPad actually for? Now let's take it as a leisure device.
Hello, if you have a kindle, you have already answered yourself. In the morning on the tram, I'll read a newspaper, a book, an email, who's playing today and I bet - I wouldn't do that on a MacBook on the tram and I'd worry about it on my mobile phone.
Evening meal via airplay when we miss it, fairy tales in the car on long journeys, reading anything on the couch, the internet and sorting photos on vacation where I don't have to have a notebook with me, a chart plotter on the boat... there are certainly a lot of other options that we don't use. For example, not for children to play with in principle.
And I certainly don't feel like I need more RAM or a better CPU just because it already exists. Otherwise, we also have iPhone, MacBookPro (work) and iMac (home).
Thanks to both of you.
Mobile phone at hand as a HOT macbook device for longer, more complex work at the desk and for everything else iPad and that's at least 50%
The iPad is my favorite iDevice in all forms - from mini to Pro. But it gets more and more frustrating that the iOS that controls it is so poor compared to the capabilities of the iPad. I don't think anyone believes that the people from Apple didn't notice it...
Exactly. They should functionally separate more from the iPhone. Using two apps at the same time is a good way but it needs more if they really want post PC.
I have an iPad 3, it's practically unusable with iOS 9, it's incredibly slow, does anyone know how to unofficially flash iOS 6? I don't need any applications there, nothing, just to browse the net... I don't understand why Apple would allow the installation of iOS on a device that doesn't run iOS properly. Probably because it's not time to sleep (thanks Apple) and the person is forced to buy a new iPad.
Yes, since Steve left, the company is acting like any other company and wants to sell as many of its products as possible. I don't really like it either, but the pros still outweigh the cons, and I'm fine with iOS9.
1) Find a jailbreak guide
2) Download the iOS 6 package (preferably its latest version), perhaps via torrents
3) Instead of jailbroken iOS, put the official six…
(each point could be described in more detail, but see google for that)