It has been a tough slough for Apple’s iPad since the height of its popularity in 2013. Facing its second straight year of negative growth, there isn’t a consensus on why iPad sales have declined. I believe the slump is attributable to a combination of factors.
Apple CEO Tim Cook called the declining iPad sales a “speed bump” last year before the launch of the 2014 models, but we haven’t seen what Apple plans to do to rejuvenate the product. From my point of view, Apple itself has done more to hurt iPad sales than any external factor, such as Microsoft or Google.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Here’s a full explanation of my theory…
1. Apple’s bigger iPhone 6 Plus phablet has made the once popular iPad mini all but pointless. That’s not entirely true – there are significant cost differences and over 2 inches of additional diagonal screen real estate – but having a huge iPhone makes having a small tablet a lot less desirable. Combine that with the fact that most people buy their phones subsidized, and a much faster, sleeker iPhone 6 Plus costs about the same as an iPad mini up front.
Below the cannibalization of the iPad is shown in a chart from Credit Suisse. Characterizing phablets as “4+ inches” seems a little out of date, but the point is clear, phablets like the iPhone 6 are eating into tablet share across the board.
2. This year’s iPad hardware updates weren’t terribly magical. The iPad mini got Touch ID (at a $100 price premium). The Air 2 got both faster and lighter, which is always great. And both became available in gold. But for people like me who are very content with the iPad Air – discussed in point 10 below – adding Touch ID or a golden housing wasn’t a big enough incentive to upgrade. Would sales have taken off if Apple offered more storage on the lower end, more laptop-like features, or lower costs?
3. New tiny 12-inch MacBook sales will impact professional/luxury iPad users. The 2-lb light weight and super portability will bring over folks who can spend a lot to get the latest technology. In fact, lowering the prices on the very popular MacBook Air to near cost parity per GB basis also makes a MacBook Air seem like the better deal (128GB MacBook Air: $899 retail, but often lower, versus 128GB iPad w/cellular: $829).
When I go to bed at night and have my iPad Air for consumption, there is often something important that I can only do well on my Mac (like adding something important to this post). This has happened so many times that the iPad doesn’t get picked up at bedtime much anymore. If I lost my iPad Air this week, I’d probably replace it with a MacBook.
4. Split screen iPad support and other laptop-like functionality is late in coming. If those features come out this year, and I think they will, a lot of professionals will jump on board. Currently functionality that makes an iPad a better solution to a problem than a laptop is often lacking.
5. Microsoft and its ecosystem have been making inroads into the professional ranks. You have to admit some of the hardware the Windows folks are putting out isn’t bad, especially when a hybrid computer can go from a MacBook Air form factor into a tablet form factor with a swinging hinge. Yes, I know Apple’s philosophy is not to marry toasters and refrigerators, but tablets and laptops aren’t that different anymore.
Even if they aren’t right, many folks will choose a convertible laptop-tablet PC over an iPad or a MacBook for that matter.
6. Chromebooks in education. Google Chromebooks have been eating Apple’s lunch in education and ironically the iconic appeal of the iPad is partially responsible. A sysadmin for a large school district tells me that the iPad trials went something like this: 100 iPads were given out to 4th graders. Within a month, over 50% of them went missing, and a few of them broke, while 10% of them were jailbroken or hacked. At the same time, with a similar Chromebook rollout, only 10% went missing, a few of them broke, and none of them were hacked (though it is certainly hackable). Give kids free iPads and they’ll have a tendency to disappear or get subverted for personal gain.
Apple has done some work in getting its iPads in schools with some noted success and other spectacular failures. A new initiative may really help but the fact that most schools either have Microsoft or Google email/apps on the backend means it is going to be tough.
7. Pricing. Apple could sell iPads at lower price points if it really wanted to. In fact, we’ve seen major retailers cutting as much as $130 off the price of new iPad Air 2s, and up to $200 on the high-end models. Subsidies are another option. Apple was able to stave off any encroachment from the Amazon Fire Phone because it offers iPhones at low price points (including “free” with plan). Apple, however, has no protection for its iPad line when Amazon comes in at $100 or less for a new Fire tablet. Fire tablets continue to be popular though Amazon won’t let you know any numbers. Spotting a Fire Phone is harder than finding a Sasquatch.
Also, 16GB is not enough space on the low end. Apple can afford to pop in 32GB of storage on the entry-level iPads and I think they will go up to this amount this year. 16GB isn’t enough for even a base model iPhone in my opinion, and with the bigger display, iPad apps need bigger files.
8. Killer App? You need a smartphone for certain things. You need a computing device for other things. There are very few apps that need an iPad, especially when you have a big iPhone in your pocket and a 2 lb. Mac next to your bed.
9. Marketing and the Apple Watch. iPad hasn’t been getting the marketing spend it got in its first years for a variety of reasons. Last year Apple had the big iPhones to explain to the public. Before that it was iOS 7’s new look and feel. This year it seems Apple is focusing its attention and every extra marketing dollar on the Apple Watch.
But Apple Watch isn’t just hurting the iPad from a marketing standpoint. Those of us who have a yearly Apple discretionary fund of $500 or so bucks aren’t likely going to put it towards the iPad this year. And Apple announced the Watch right before the holiday shopping season. Sure, that was mostly to dissuade people from buying other watches, but some folks also probably held off on Apple purchases.
On a higher level, it also makes me wonder if Apple’s got a new paradigm. Instead of iPhone|iPad|Mac, is Apple now promoting: Watch+CarPlay+Apple TV+Accessories|iPhone|Mac in its “3 screens” paradigm? Where does iPad fit?
10. Perhaps this is unintuitive, but Apple’s incredible build quality coupled with genuine efforts to update old iPads to the latest version of iOS has made the decision to purchase a new iPad a difficult one. My old iPads still look, feel and work great. My son can still use our original iPad and a lot of the apps he likes. I bought an iPad Air last year, and it is hard to justify the purchase of a new one (even though retailers are discounting the heck out of them). My wife uses an iPad 3, and for what she does on it, there is no reason to update.
The good news here is that much of the iPad’s sales decline can be fixed by Apple, because it’s responsible for most of the issues above. An iPad Pro, price drops, a better iPad iOS version with split-screen support, and better integration with keyboards are all ways Apple could stop the decline in iPad sales and get the platform growing again. More and more engaging marketing wouldn’t hurt, either.
Perhaps Apple can fit iPad in between the Apple Watch launch and the launch of the new Apple TV?
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I assume ‘Pricing’ was listed twice as a clever ploy…
more like an not clever paste. Fixed.
Hi Seth, I really enjoyed this. I wanted also to mention you have Price listed as two separate reasons.
Thanks and thanks!
Numbers 5 and 7 are the same :(
i would love split-screen and a way to use my ipad as a secondary display for my mac wirelessly and without the need of an app, if one of those or the both happens i will buy the next ipad (9″) to trade my mini 2
more like 9 reasons, “pricing” is listed twice.
Probably because it’s a really big reason. I’ve already bought two iPads and won’t be buying a third. It’s not compelling enough, I can do pretty much anything I need on my iPhone and it’s just too damn expensive.
People are not buying because there is no need to buy.
If people have a smartphone, especially an expensive one in the last few years, then there is little need to buy an iPad. If you have bought an iPad in the last few years then again, there is little need to buy a new one.
I bet most of the iPads bought are for gifts or to replace any ears old one.
I’ll add a subtle reason to the mix: the antiglare coating on the Air 2 is nice for reducing glare, but it takes away some of the “pop”. When I compare the Air to the Air 2, the colorful display of the Air brings instant joy, whereas the Air 2 gives me pause… even a bit of queeziness.
(And the iPad mini display has always been subpar.)
This is why I ended up returning my iPad Air 2 for the original Air again. The screen just didn’t come alive with the anti-glare coating. It also seemed to be much more fingerprint prone.
I like the display package better on the iPad Air 2. Just having no gap screams quality to me. But when I compare colors on my Note 4 there is no contest.
I agree with some of these points, probably 10 + saturation more than any. I’m guessing you had a proper 7 instead of the duplicated reason 5. If not, I’d offer this: Too many iPad models. For god’s sake, we have an iPad Air 2 now. Simplicity made the new Apple simultaneously powerful and inviting. It’s important.
You don’t really need 10 reason. Sure many things can have accumulative affect on the decline, however the biggest reason is probably #2 of your list (kind of). The hardware updates do not justify new purchase. I have an iPad 3 and I am fine with it and I think a lot of people are in the same boat.
In all honesty the iPad is a coffee table device (games + browsing).
The iPad 3 is literally the WORST iPad there is, and by quite a margin. It’s excessively heavy, it’s hard to hold for very long, and it get’s really hot at times. If this is the iPad you have, then you have pretty much the worst iPad user experience you could have.
Just sayin.
I had the 3 and found the hardware acceptable. I even rocked a otterbox defender on it and at the time I never thought it was a slow or heavy tablet. Some of us don’t mind the weight. The heat issue was covered up by the case.
If I could get another 5 to 10 hours of use with only a 0.5 pound increase I would go for it.
Lucky for him, he probably does not care what you think. Plus, you forgot to stamp your little feet.
The way I see it, it’s not a bad thing that iPads last so long that people don’t need to upgrade. Much better for the earth
Yeah, I agree. I’ve had my iPad for a long time and it simply works wonderfully – as well as it did on day one. I’m sure few have upgraded as rabidly as iPhone users or even Mac users.
And there is more – I use my iPad a lot and I use it more just about every day. In fact, I’ve been imagining getting another – I share mine with the spouse right now, but I think it’s time that I get my own.
Split Screen is nice. But, it’s a function of software.
Hardware screen size and resolution might play into it a little. 😜
Not to mention memory
I’m just gonna put this out there: Apple got greedy. That’s the fast way of saying most of the topics above. They tried to hold prices too high in the face of good competition, offered too little too late in terms of those “tech specs” nobody supposedly cares about (but do when UX suffers), burned too many early iPad buyers thanks to shortchanging on RAM, and put too many iPad 2/mini1 into the wild too long into the lifecycle. They’re still making every one of those mistakes TODAY…so they haven’t learned. The only iPad that is well situated for the next 3 years is the Air 2, and its entry level model (@ $499) is 16GB. Every other model they sell is crippled by RAM and will suffer under iOS 9; the iPad 2/mini1 that makes up a large percentage of their marketshare barely can keep Safari from crashing under iOS 8 and will likely NOT run iOS 9.
Neither RAM nor flash is particularly pricey. The performance of the A5 (iPad 2/mini1) would not be a UX issue if apps wouldn’t simply crash and quit so often, the CPU performance is less the issue to most consumers. Constant crashes, buggy iOS releases, inability to upgrade thanks to no storage, constant messages about not enough iCloud storage…this all adds up. And none of it would have dramatically impacted Apple’s bottom line. Yet they…just…didn’t…change…any of it. Spiting georges in search of benjamins.
And consumers walked away to cheaper tablets. Every single family I know has at least 1 Kindle Fire, and at least 1 cheapo Android craplet. Some have iPads. Overwhelmingly none can afford to keep buying iPads; they certainly can’t afford buying a $600 model every two years. And at this point, there isn’t much difference between an iPad mini 1 and a $79 Walmart special for consumers who don’t care. (Forget comparing to a $179 Nexus 7gen2.)
Greed and arrogance. Seems to bite Apple time and time again.
I’m not sure if it’s “greed”, but you are right that Apple have always limited the use and dependability of the iPad by being stingy on memory of both kinds. A mistake that, like you, I would assume would have been easy to avoid with very little effect on Apple’s margins.
the thing is laptops are getting better and better, with SSDs, better battery life, retina display… everything that made the iPad a winner and yet retaining the great apps the iPad still can only dream of, like full-fledged Photoshop/Pixelmator, true web browsers, multitasking, etc… so what’s the point of having an iPad anymore? i sold my 3rd gen iPad after months of using more my MacBook Air when at home than any other device
i must say i felt tempted to buy an iPad Air 2 but thinking wisely i wouldnt use it for much beside casual gaming and some Twitter and that’s not worthy of 700 euros
I’ve been a iPhone/iPad hater for many years now but I finally gave in and bought a LTE iPad Air 2 64GB last Saturday and it’s hands down the best tablet I’ve owned and probably the best iOS device Apple has released. That being said I hate iPhones. Tried 2 times and could not stand the experience. Maybe my new found love for the iPad will switch that but I don’t like the direction Apple is headed in with the iPhone.
1. Apple should have never released the iPhone 6 Plus. It was way to early and many people in the Android camp wanted a smaller but larger 4.7″ premium device with decent specs. All they had to do was add 1080p and optical image stabilization to the 4.7″ model and that phone would have kept iPad 9.7″ sales high.
2. Apple failed to add iPad Air 2 features to the iPad mini 3. Why cripple a product that is in high demand for the sake of selling more expensive units.
From a business angle you’re probably correct when you say Apple should never have released iPhone 6 Plus. But for this consumer, it was a stroke of genius. I was never big on iPad due to its size but became very excited late in 2010 when the 11″ MacBook Air was introduced and once I had the cash I went there immediately. I did finally break down and get an iPad Mini and I liked the small notebook form factor, however I wasn’t about invest in a cellular model either. When the 6 Plus hit scene I was instantly smitten. Large enough for consumption yet still small enough to fit in my pocket. When paired with a tiny keyboard (such as the one from WayTools), it is great at productivity and rendered my iPad Mini to “for sale on Craigslist” status.
But yeah, I’m sure iPhone 6 Plus sales have contributed.
So, please tell me you weren’t one of the people laughing at how ‘unruly’ and ‘ugly’ the Samsung Note is, or how the only thing you’d ever need in a phone is the 3.5″ screen. That is, until Apple did it…
I have to disagree. I think that the iPhone 6 Plus was the right move for Apple to make.
Has it eaten the iPad sales? Sure, but Apple is famous for saying that if anyone is going to eat our market we want it to be us. Besides, I think that it is a given now that the iPad is not going to be operating on an iPhone-like life cycle. So, what would you rather have as a business a phone that people will buy a new one of every two to three years or a tablet that people will buy a new one of every four to five years?
I think that #1 and #3 are the primary factors that the iPad sales are declining.
Remember when the iPad was first debuted and they showed the slide of the iPhone, the iPad, and the MacBook and it basically said that the iPad filled that middle niche? Well, that middle niche has been getting smaller and smaller every year. The iPad is the Samsung of the Apple lineup, it is getting squeezed from the top and the bottom. The iPhones have been getting bigger and faster while the MacBooks have been getting thinner, lighter, and longer lasting battery life with each generation.
Where is the room at for the iPad anymore? If Apple were to slap some sensors and a touch screen on the next generation of MacBook Air I think that would pretty much be the end of the iPad.
There are some things that Apple could do to combat this, but I don’t think that there is anything that they can do to reverse it. Eventually, the phones and the laptops will squeeze the middle to the point that tablets will be reduced to niche markets like eReaders, artisitic devices (which means that Apple really needs to look at digitizers), and portable gaming devices.
These could still be lucrative, but they will also always be niche and susceptible to obsolescence by one of the devices above or below.
I agree with 1., even though I did get an iPhone 6, I would have preferred a 4.3″ screen I could manage with one hand. As it is, if I try to one hand the iPhone 6, I have to hold it in such a way it feels like I’m going to drop it. I was ready for something larger than the 4″ screen on my iPhone 5, but, the original rumors were for 4.3 & 4.9 inch iPhones, and I wish this was what apple had done. I think, for them to go over 5″ was a mistake in the long run.
Reality is, some people only buy the iPhone 6+ for the battery life, not the bigger screen.
People ignore these numbers when they are quick to say “look at the iPad” for defending the potential of the Apple Watch. So by that argument the Apple Watch will grow in sales for 3 years and then become a sinking ship for 10 reasons?
Are you forgetting the iPhone and iPod too? None of these were huge out of the gate.
👍
👍 On most points not all
Im a believer in a hybrid dual OS device !
I have a strong feeling its on its way !
I pray ipad pro is dual os… Capable of running full fledged osx apps
So many people here laughed at the Surface Pro for being a hybrid device, yet, if Apple does it, they will praise it as the second coming of Jesus.
Totally agree although I’ll add one: iPads haven’t changed since the iPad 1. No split screen and no multi user STILL. It’s just a big iPhone and that’s a big problem for a $500+ device.
I’m #8 myself. Between my MacBook Retina and my 6+, there’s not a lot of value for an iPad. In fact, there’s a better value in getting a Kindle Paperwhite to be my 3rd device. I did get an iPad 3 and that’s protected by an OtterBox case and belongs to the kiddo for Learning and Entertainment.
Though – I do wonder if maybe one day I might stop paying for an iPhone/Cell Phone and simply try to live off an LTE iPad Mini. That would be an interesting article and experiment. Can we cut the proverbial “cord” of the cell phone carriers and simply pay the $10 add-on for iPad? I’ve got my wife and mother on my AT&T plan. If I simply leeched off their data and paid $10 a month for a connection – is that a smart idea?
1) Will lose all SMS capability and would have to force conversations through iMessage or FB/Social Media.
2) Could still take voice calls through Skype / FaceTime Audio
3) Video calls still through Skype / FaceTime Video
What else is a roadblock?
Taking it with you anywhere.
Nah, I take my iPad mini with me everywhere, 24/7. So do lots of people.
There is also a large group of people that take their larger iPads with them everywhere, and don’t have a cell phone of any kind. This group is mostly seniors really, but seniors are a large group.
IMO Apple needs to make it a *choice* whether one takes an iPhone with them, or an iPad. To “level the playing field” for those of us not obsessed by “telephones” but that still want to be mobile.
Price is a big deal. So if I’m going to spend my own money, I want max functionality. Turn a Surface Pro on, click the stylus, and it automatically opens OneNote. Native Exchange email, Office Apps (360 subscription means Office anywhere), USB, memory. Why would I buy an iPad?
in reality i don’t what can i don with my iPad 2, scrap it, sell it, or just ignore it. it was for sure my TOP number one waste of money gadget i have bought in my life :( iPad or any pad is just no use at all for me
they need to do what they said they would in the very first place, which is position the iPad as a “post PC device.” If you can do everything on the iPad that you could normally do on a laptop, then it will sell itself.
So far, in defiance of this obviousness, they have sold the iPad as a “casual movie watching and web browsing device.” Those of us that use them as actual computing devices have been left out in the cold.
Also, for those that say “well it doesn’t need to be updated EVERY year!” … If it’s a computer that one is supposed to use for actual work and stuff (supposedly, according to Apple), then yes they *do* need to update it every year, and it should get rather significant upgrades every two years or three at the outside.
Interestingly … this is year 3 for the iPad mini and it hasn’t changed much at all since the day it was introduced. So we will all know by the end of this year what Apple “really” thinks of iPads and the iPad user case. If the mini isn’t significantly updated this year, then we will know that Apple basically doesn’t give a shit about all that “Post PC” stuff they spouted when Jobs was alive.
The iPad has been around a while now. Make the thing a serious computing device. At least make the mini a serious computing device. Otherwise stop with all the hype, because it isn’t true.
Unlike years passed, there really isn’t a need to upgrade…unlike a decade ago when you needed a new phone every two years due to hardware improvements and cellular upgrades.
Or like computers 15 years ago…you had to upgrade to deal with the processor speed and RAM needed to ever more sophisticated webpages.
Haven’t upgraded/replaced my iMac desktop in 5 years or my iPad mini, both is chugging along just fine…and I’ll probably hold onto my iPhone 5S as long as possible.
Another thing to add is the resale market is huge for iPads. I would venture that first time iPad owners are increasingly more and more getting their first iPad through the resale market as people upgrade or consolide to a “phablet”.
This article has some valid points but misses out on the what the real cause is… For Apple to really make it big with iPad they need to leverage true enterprise software and last but not least build an iPad that can withstand temperatures issues that come with extreme cold and heat. We had a recent prospect that loved our solution with iPad but had to go Windows because they would be storing devices in tugs, trucks and other areas around the tarmac. So the problem isn’t price, storage or for that fact software (hell we have great software for it) but its the lack of business grade device for extreme conditions that don’t cause the device to shut down when overheated or too cold. Apple’s best market opportunity is business with this device and not the consumer. #ezforms
They need to have bumped up RAM to 4GB. Yeah, 16GB is becoming useless on a tablet. I think 32GB is the new 16GB.
Why 4GB of RAM? Can you point to a iOS app that needs this much RAM?
I think 7 and 10 have to be the biggest reasons. When iPad came out it was sort of like the “poor man’s PC”. It did 90% of what 90% of people needed it to do. And it was so well made, they last 5+ years. My wife and I are still rocking a 2 & a 3. My brother gave me the three but it was cracked. Still worked great, but I tried to replace the screen and wound up breaking the Home Button. Now it clicks itself and closes out of apps and activates Siri spontaneously. Only reason I’m looking to upgrade now. Should have just let it be.I used the iPad all the time, but because I’m a “poor man” I might just have to live without for now.
Decent article but I disagree with the statement “Apple was able to stave off any encroachment from the Amazon Fire Phone because it offers iPhones at low price points.” The Fire Phone encroached on no one because it sucked.
The Fire Tablets suck and they sell really well.
The market simply reached saturation, now the question is how often will people upgrade? Many people love iPad for many things but why upgrade when what you have still does what you need? Many people upgrade their phone every other year because 1) their carrier subsidizes it, and 2) the phone starts to get some wear and tear. But … If your iPad is still going strong, why upgrade? It’s a mistake to compare iPad with iPhone. The cycle for iPad might be 4-6 years for many people. The watch will be the same! The stainless/sapphire is designed to last and will look perfect for a long time.
I like how people roll out the “market saturation” argument, even though there isn’t a possibility in hell that they actually know this to be true. :-)
It’s just an observation – a few years ago no one had a tablet, now everyone and their grandma seems to have one and market growth has slowed. I suspect that most people that want a tablet and have the means to buy one have bought one already. The early growth from, zero people having a tablet is rapid and unsustainable. The market is healthy, it just can’t have the upgrade cycle of a phone.
This Feature seems to be written from a PC perspective, and will disregard. The real reason is the absence of larger formats from apple.
Reason 10 is like 80% of why the sales are declining, with reason 1 probably accounting for 10%. Pricing has never really seemed to be a major pain point for iPad sales, so I doubt pricing is really to blame. Even the software hasn’t really been a major roadblock to adoption. The real killers for iPad sales are bigger phones eating the iPad Mini’s lunch and the fact that consumers are treating their iPad’s more like laptops when it comes time to upgrade them. My grandma had a first-gen iPad and upgraded to the iPad 4 when it came out. She hasn’t bought a new iPad since. My uncle upgraded from an iPad 2 to an iPad Air, his partner still uses an iPad 4. My dad, stepmom and stepbrother all have old iPad 2s and see no reason to upgrade. My mom has my old Mini and doesn’t see why she would ever need a new device (although I plan on getting her the iPad Mini 2 for Christmas or her birthday). People don’t need new iPads because the old ones still work well enough for most people, and people like me gave away/sold their Mini’s when they got iPhone 6 Plus’s.
An iPad does less and can cost almost as much as a Macbook Air. Either invent more unique and cool capabilities for iPad or charge less. Simple.
great article Seth. Your points are very valid especially with regards to storage, pricing, and hybrid nature similar to what Microsoft has been doing.
On the side note, you have 11 points. There’s a typo with #5 (there are two).
After breaking my digitizer and trying to replace it and stripping screws on my ipad 2, it is sitting in my closet and gathering dust. In fact, all my tablets/hybrids are old/broken. My asus t100 screen’s cracked so I got a dell venue 11 pro. After dropping it I kept on getting Blue Screens of death, I think I broked something inside. So that is to unstable to use. I also have a nook hd+ but that thing is very slow with custom lollipop rom.
So I’ve been using my (slow) mid 2010 macbook pro, my Oneplus One (android smartphone), and an asus x205 ta (what I am typing this on).
Anyways, getting back to topic I really don’t miss my Ipad. I do miss the apps but that is about it. I will be getting a macbook pro for college and don’t know if I will get an ipad or not. I really miss using windows 8.
I wonder why apple doesn’t make a cheaper ipad with polycarbonate. Well I could buy an Ipad air 1st generation (128gb) for around $400 on ebay so maybe that is why.
Is this a joke? “You have to admit some of the hardware the Windows folks are putting out isn’t bad…” I admit nothing. Windows is junk, always has been and always will be.
Microsoft really builds sturdy tablets. As for the rest of manufacturers….
Now there are TWO #5s
I’m buying a Mac. I find there are less errors than Windows. :)
I’ve had issues with both Mac and Windows. My Mac probably needs an ssd and more Ram, it runs pretty slow. While a $100 Asus x205ta I bought runs really decent and costs 1/12 as much. Though I found that windows is more likely to have virus or aware. My Mac has gotten aware too, so it’s more vulnerable than you think.
I’ll be getting a new MacBook pro for college and will be running parrarels on it.
Or, people simply do not need to update their iPad’s as frequently as their iPhone. I still have an iPad 2 that’s relevant.
#5 unless we get an iPad pro (12-13″) with a dock and OS X.. Current iPads are too small, but would gladly retire my 11″ Air if Apple had an alternative. Surface Pro 3 looks good otherwise.
Just needs a killer app like CREATEit Pro
I have iPads laying around my house like remote controls. I got a Mac Boor Air for most things now and the kids use the iPad to surf. No reason to upgrade to basically the same device with a different shape.
4, 5, 6, 7 for sure are non-issues. But phablet phones for sure bridged the gap, which is fine, that’s what Apple does, cannibalize their products for other products. It’s all about consumer choice.
The laminated screen in the iPad Air 2 is enough of a reason to purchase. The weight is an awesome touch, but the lack of reverberation you get on the Air (and below) is quite astonishing.
Experience with the iPod and Nano has shown Apple the inevitable decline of sales, but we’re not there yet. There was much that Apple could have done to make the iPad more attractive this time around, but as has been stated by the author, many consumers have a limited budget–despite how much they would *like* to spend on Apple stuff–and Apple knows this: we can’t upgrade for every little thing, and we’re excessively satisfied with what we have (including services).
So, rather than dropping a pimped up iPad to get us all excited, we all get to save our pennies for the Apple Watch (I’m passing on it, myself but I’m probably in the minority around here) and this is what Apple is throwing its weight behind. The Macbook is really something, and it’s a worthy upgrade for those without expectation of their laptops to do much heavy lifting, but the Apple Watch is Cook and Ives’ real baby, and it’s getting all the hype; it’s all about the new product, new services, new training, new store furniture, and new clientelle: while not utterly changing the company, they’re giving it a pretty serious overhaul. The iPad overhaul can wait.
Once the lion’s share of Apple buyers are Watching, it won’t be long till Apple drops a suped-up iPad for everyone to salivate over. Cook knows the cards it’s holding, and he’s is an expert player.There’s no question he’s got the proverbial ace up his iPad sleeve to throw down once we’re all on board with the Watch. The above examples 1-10 aren’t strikes against Apple’s iPad, they each play a role in its overall strategy for it.
Whether Apple succeeds or fails with that strategy remains to be seen.
The iPad is to the ultrabook in the same way that the netbook was to the iPad. The iPad had a place until such time that something better came along – that something better was in the form of the phablet at the small screen end of the tablet market with the ultrabook taking the bigger screen end of the market with the emergence of extremely low end low cost tablets being purely consumption devices. The MacBook is the successor to the iPad – all the thinness without the inherent limitations which will eventually scale down price wise to where the iPad occupied and the iPad will remain but as a niche.
As for ChromeOS – I think the greater challenge it poses is to Windows laptops once Android applications are running on ChromeOS when you consider that Microsoft Office is available for Android and in turn end users able to run Microsoft Office on their ChromeOS laptop/desktop/etc. The direction Windows is also going in isn’t filling OEM’s with much confidence so if anything it appears that ChromeOS serves more to undermine Microsoft than it does to undermine Apple. Long term though I don’t think Nadella gives a toss about the desktop operating system other than ensuring that what ever operating system you’re running that you’re hooked into the Microsoft cloud running Microsoft middleware on your computer – that if the market is going to gravitate towards Android and iOS that they’re better off making sure their software runs on Android and iOS than trying to fight what appears to be an inevitable tide of public opinion.
Apple needs to switch to larger storage capacities on their iPads. I hope that Apple offers double the storage of the iPhone: 32GB, 64GB and 256GB models.
If they lowered pricing too! $399 for the 32GB iPad and $249 for the iPad Mini they could really ignite their sales again.
Lastly, they could simplify their line-up and amp sales even more than they do now by only offering LTE models. These models could be sold on contract – which would be subsidized by carriers. Consumers would get a free iPad Mini or a $199 iPad for $30/month for 2 years. In this scenario, everyone is happy.
I am on the same boat as many of you – still using my iPhone 4 and iPad 2 just fine. Yeah, I don’t have Touch ID or all those newer stuff but I won’t cry about it. Actually, the only thing that I might suffer (on the iPad) is the lack of Retina display. Simply because when I read something (longer than usual – long article/book, 15-30+ minutes) my eyes start to burn. My plan is to get a new iPhone this or maybe even next year (iPhone 7, not even 6S), and keep the iPad as long as possible. Then, eventually I might consider getting the then-upgraded MacBook, instead of a new iPad. Even if I am big lover of the iPad – it’s a brilliant device, but unfortunately I caught myself lately that I am using the iPad less and less. I guess I’ll need some money in 2016 heh, the upgrade will be then needed I guess. :)
#10 is mostly right… I have an iPad 2 (not Air) and it’s dog slow after updating to iOS 8. Apps crash frequently but it still works, I just have to put up with response times from 5 years ago. And it frustrates the heck out of me that I can’t roll it back to iOS 7!!! It’s almost like Apple’s trying to make this older hardware obsolete to force me to upgrade. That I don’t like.
“Yes, I know Apple’s philosophy is not to marry toasters and refrigerators”
But they have been steering iPads in the direction of laptops for years now with desktop like applications working across devices. Will a physical keyboard be next? I think to grow in the market, maybe. People gravitate to things they know and are comfortable with, I don’t think there’s any denying keyboard cases are a huge part of the accessory market.
i’d say the reason is that all those recent line up is too good , unless adding force touch or other new features , a little bit slimmer, little bit faster , wont lead us to an upgrade
When Apple makes a retina laptop with a touch screen AND virtualizes iOS on the Mac, I’ll stop buying iPads. There are a number of iOS games and a comic book reader that I just can’t give up — they work best with touch control on the screen.
You know, maybe Apple’s iPad sales are declining, and perhaps I will be coming across as another fanboy, but the truth is, Apple really doesn’t care about sales figures, it never has. This was not the principle that Steve Jobs founded this company on, and it is not the principle upon which it operates today. Apple is about making great products for people, and the Apple ecosystem of products, content, and software cannot be beaten, as Apple doesn’t see it that way.
When in Apple’s history has it ever been #1 in sales for longer than a year or two? Certainly not with the Mac lineup, certainly not with the iPhone when it was released, certainly not with Mac OS or Safari, etc… But those products are simply the best in the market, and will continue to be, plain and simple.
I love my iPad air 2, Its amazingly fast, Love touch ID on it, Very light. Battery life is good, but not as good as the mini 2 that It replaced. I use it EVERY day on the couch to read, surf, view videos. Its amazing for that. I also take it with me hiking (I have the cellular model). Its literally the best hiking GPS device out there (There are some amazing Hiking apps like Gaia Gps) But Like you when I want to post something, reply to work email. Write documentation, take notes it’s really not the best device. I try to use if for those tasks, but its just not great at those.
Surface Pro 3 is really starting to look like the device I am looking for. if they can get it lighter (maybe with the new intel core M chip) I might jump ship. the price is really not much more than the Cellular iPad. The iPad does have the advantage of better Tablet apps, but most of the ones I use are available in the windows app store.
Hmm.. Does anyone know if the apple watch can talk to the iPad for its GPS?
Number 8 is precisely why I won’t be purchasing an iPad any time in the near future. I was considering an iPad as a replacement for my old Macbook, which I’ve had since 2008, but the more I think about it, the more I realize how unrealistic this is. Once I buy all the peripherals necessary to use an iPad like a notebook, I’ve spent just as much, if not more, money as I would have in purchasing a Macbook Air. I’m even more drawn to a new Macbook with the release of the 12-inch retina model now that its weight and portability are much more akin to that of an iPad. Great article!
I use iPad at work under BYOD. A year ago our IT made it much less useful by limiting apps with which ai can open mail attachments to so called “company managed apps” – I had to start to carry a PC again as managed apps are craps really. Dont know the details but I am sensing that pages/numbers and keynote are not free for corporations as they are for retail customers or something. Second apple has been too slow – last year I didnt upgrade as I had already TouchID on 5S and didnt want a tablet without it now that it got that I thought they may do a spring release of a Pro and now I will wIt tills Septemebr for the Pro as I want larger screen and native stylus.
Reblogged this on The Ginja Ninja's Show.
How about the poor cameras in the iPads? While the camera may not be the major feature in the iPad that is is in the iPhone, having a crap camera makes the iPad seem like a second class device. Apple is telling its iPad users that they are just not as important as their iPhone users. It is obvious to everyone that there is no technical reason why the iPad could not have the same cameras as the latest iPhone. Also the third generation iPad Mini having the same specs as the second generation is another sign that iPads are just not that important to Apple.
I’d add one more reason – Unreliability!? My iPad rMini won’t turn on. Yesterday it had 100% charge and then it switched off. It won’t turn on. Just tried everything Apple support & google suggests – power+home combo, iTunes restore, etc., but no luck. I’m out of warranty and I guess i have to pay hefty price for replacement. When I google’ed “iPad won’t turn on”, i was shocked. This is no one-of case. Maybe, h/w issue, could be iOS…who knows! My MBP and iPhone 4S still running good, but iPad suddenly died. Heartbreaking for me.
Also….For Apple, iOS for iPad always been 2nd class citizen.
There are no new features, what are they expecting?
Pretty Sure Apple is to blame for most of Apple’s products that begin to decline in sales… That is one of Steve Job’s greatest contributions to legacy management, destroy your own products and take the next step before the competition has a chance to do it for you.
Whatsapp doesn’t run on iPad and that’s one of the reasons I must drop my iPad to go back to my iPhone6 Plus, how sweet it’d be if I didn’t have to undock my phone from charging so I can continue doing everything with my iPad while I’m at home. I also pair my iPad to a wireless keyboard, but the ENTER key doesn’t SEND messages, something so simple and yet annoying. If those two simple things could get fixed I could leave my phone charging for when I have to go out and use my iPad at home with the plus that the screen and it’s keys are much bigger, comfort goes a long way. PS: There’s a big improvement on the iPhone 6 Plus’ camera, but no important improvements on any iPad’s cameras. Aren’t the guys of Apple peddling the iPad as a great tool for video and photography enthusiasts?
Sure, iPad sales are being squeezed by the Airs/new MacBook on one side and by the bigger iPhones/other phablets on the other side. But agree with the author that they are ways to grow the iPad market with more functionality (e.g. better keyboards, external trackpads, split screens, etc.). A lot can be done with IOS enhancements to give the iPads more laptop capability. And future models should be more generous with RAM, bigger flash drives. With a 6+ in hand, I turn to my iPad mini less and less. But Apple still has an opportunity to further refine the gold standard in tablets and make lots of money doing it.
I have an iMac an iPad 2 an iPhone and I bought a Samsung Galaxy Pro tabletnote 12.2 in my opinion the note is a much better tablet has far more options maybe not quite as secure but way more business use I’m not sure how much Apple thinks I make a year but it certainly isn’t enough to own all the Apple products and upgrade them every one or two years my upgrade scheme is 3 to 5 years
Have we forgotten about the technology adoption lifecycle and Roger’s bell curve?
I think the major reason is different from those stated: the limitations by iOS which cripple otherwise great machine. I cant stress this enough: iPad is crippled by Appke and as a result you can not use it for a serious work. Like it Apple or not, but we users need to work with files and on iPad, the files workflow is anywhere between cumbersome and impossible. I m holding more computing power than a premium pc five yrs ago in my hands – and i even cannot rename a video or move things from one folder to another!? Excuse me? Or look at search: you got content so well hidden within apps themselves that if you dont know which app u used to open it you cannot find it. (Search for me is “i need all files which contain product ABC123, be it pdfs, xls, docs or dwg”. Impossible on iPad, instead you swipe and swipe and swipe … Yes, animation is smooth, look is flat .. But you are still swiping!
Till this improves, ipad will stay a toy. The other day sbdy presented on Samsung ipad: he simply went to a folder “company/videos/product A” and there were all videos he wanted to show me, no need to swipe among unorganised chaos and think under WHICH rules THIS video was put into “Movies” or into “Home Videos” by iTunes.
This is where Apple really screws it’s customers and where their shroud of secrecy stinks. I purchased the iPad Air in the fall. I was choosing between that and the 2. The Apple employee showed me the minor differences and I chose the Air because there was not enough difference for me to spend the extra money. HOWEVER if I was told that they were working on an update allowing a split screen, I would have purchased the iPad Air 2. This is exactly where Apple shows how little it cares for it’s customers. So if one wants the split screen option they need to purchase the iPad Air 2 even though their new iPad of only 8 months old.
Are you crazy? Or you didn’t follow the keynote?
The new iOS9 will be available all the way back to iPad 2.
This is the sequence of the iPads production:
iPad
iPad 2
iPad 3
iPad 4
iPad Air
iPad Air 2
so your ipad Air is quite new and will get the iOS9 update. So relax Max.
Also, you must remember that you are buying a product for what it can do in THIS moment in time, not for what it MIGHT be able/not be able to do in the future.
Apple and its employees are not to blame here.
Couldn’t agree more with the article and most comments. I only bought a new iPad because I dropped my iPad 2 and cracked the screen, although it still works it’s annoying. But the IOS limitations finally got to me and I bought a 13″ MacBook for my “tablet” device. (I had been schlepping my 17″ macbook pro on trips but that got old…)
I can do so much more on my Macbook, which is a real computer with a file system, search tools, separate apps for email, multi-tasking, simple configuration tools, New-Office, etc. I now get my New York Times on the Macbook and expect my favorite magazines to migrate there as well.
You missed the worst feature and that is the horrible interface, the way they look, the way you quit programs etc. I have never seen anything so ugly or so hard to use or see. I just opened this new iPad on iOS 9 and boy what a disappointment! At least the wallpaper can emulate the old pallets, the new gray ones do NOTHING for me as well as the flat bar at the bottom. Apple needs to stop this march to PC cheapness and FIRE JONY IVE and TIM COOK They have violated every HIG in the book. The GUI sucks rocks.
Wow. So 100 iPads were given to 4th grades up against 100 chrome books, and the students showed zero enthusiasm for hacking into them (to expand what could be done with them), or “misplacing”. (Lets ignore that a “few of them broke” since even though they could have stated the number on each, they refused to do so, drawing one to the conclusion that perhaps the count of broken tablets might have reduced their argument).
But looking at these facts, the results are clear. The students wanted iPads, or wanted to use them more than the Chrome book. That doesn’t say that Chrome books are eating their lunch. It just says that the iPad is more popular.
I have a somewhat different issue. I am 79, and I do not have an iPhone or any other “smart” phone, only a “dumb” one. I’m waiting for some 20 to 30-year old to comment that my age prevents me from appreciating newer technology. I’d look at them in scorn while remarking that I bought the first desktop Mac issued in 1983 before they were born. I then had several. Currently, we have two MacBook laptops, plus two iPads and one iPad mini. I see no need for a “smart” phone. I don’t go out much except to drive to a store and would NOT use one while driving. I see no need to carry one around. It would only be a nuisance. Comments?
Tablets in general have long lifespans and don’t need constant updating. I am still using a Nexus 7 from 2013.
I am surprised that you have managed to keep a working old iPad and updates it to the latest iOS — as far as I know that is impossible. My 1st gen iPad is on iOS 6 and that’s as far as I’m taking it. It’s slow enough on iOS6 but the apps are antiquated, you really want to be on ios7 at least.
My 1st gen iPad mini is on ios7 and it’s slow as a pig. Apple likes to force you to upgrade by making older devices insufferably slow on newer versions of the OS. Well to that, I say, “Screw you Apple hello Google Nexus!” Best tablet purchase of my life, still buttery smooth 3 years later.
Apple sceews itself with this tasteless strategy.
Support is horrible too…After explaining my troubles where my ipad air 2 keeps getting stuck in a reboot loop and having to factory reset it constantly, all I get out of them is a, “Well, I guess it sucks to be you.” attitude. I just bought a samsung galaxy s2 and find it to be way better than that useless paperweight…
I can’t even use my air iPad because it won’t let me get a password ID. I have tried every way imaginable.