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Perspective: iPad Pro blew past Microsoft Surface as soon as Apple could make enough of them, IDC says

iPad-Pro-IDC

IDC is out with its latest report on worldwide tablet shipments following Apple’s Q1 2016 earnings and in the report shares a nugget about iPad Pro sales.

It may not surprise you, but Apple’s new 12.9-inch iPad, which many would have you believe is the company’s first to compete directly with detachable and hybrid tablets/laptops, outsold Microsoft Surface and other detachable tablets, according to the report:

This quarter was unique as we had new detachables in the market from all three of the major platform players,” said Jitesh Ubrani, Senior Research Analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers. “Despite lukewarm reviews, the iPad Pro was the clear winner this season as it was the top selling detachable, surpassing notable entries from Microsoft and other PC vendors. It’s also important to note that the transition towards detachable tablets has presented positive opportunities for both Apple and Microsoft. However, Google’s recent foray into this space has been rather lackluster as the Android platform will require a lot more refinement to achieve any measurable success.”

IDC claims Apple “was able to curb the decline in iPad revenues as its model mix shifted towards higher priced iPads” with a successful iPad Pro launch, but it doesn’t share any of its specific data on iPad Pro sales versus iPad or Surface sales in general in its report.

The win for iPad Pro, IDC notes, comes as worldwide tablet sales are down -13.7% year over year to 65.9 million units in the last quarter of 2015 and to 206.8 million for 2015 from 230.1 million in 2014. Apple, however, holds its lead in the tablet category overall despite a -24.8% year-over-year decline. Apple sold 16.1 million iPads in the last quarter of 2015, putting it in the lead ahead of number two Samsung with 9 million units shipped (as highlighted in IDC’s chart above). And here’s a look at the outcome for tablet shipments for the year based on IDC’s data, which puts Apple in first position with 49.6 million units shipped (-21.8% year over year), followed by Samsung, Lenovo, ASUS, and Huawei:

IDC-tablet-sales-2015

The iPad Pro is the first to come with an Apple-made detachable keyboard and a screen size in the territory of hybrids like Microsoft’s Surface, which is presumably why IDC puts it in the “detachable tablet” category, but some would argue the Pro isn’t exactly a direct hybrid competitor — since it doesn’t come with a keyboard, still relies on Apple’s iOS mobile operating system, and doesn’t pack in as much processing power as the true laptop/tablet hybrids like Surface.

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Comments

  1. Hopefully this will silence the “iPad needs OS X/A mouse” crowd.

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If you need a mouse, OS X, build in keyboard and apps only found on a full blow PC, get a PC. You can find loads that are incredible portable.

    It’s like saying “I want a bike. But I don’t want to have to pedal, so add an engine. And add four wheels so it will balance when stationary. Oh, and a box around the driver so if it rains you don’t get wet. No, I don’t want a car, I want a bike.”

    • chrisl84 - 8 years ago

      Why because a tablet outsold a computer? Surprise surprise, even the article states the iPad pro isnt in the same category as the Surface….but sure

      • c1ce091b - 8 years ago

        I know what category the surface is in and one that will outsell iPads in… Boat Anchors.

    • twelve01 - 8 years ago

      The future is OS that works with/adapts to the device you’re using – e.g. Her (2013). With iPhone, Apple developed an OS designed for touch and paired down from its older brother. Said design choices which were meant to ensure a fluid experience are now being seen as hindrances. We’re now at the point where the expectation is that our mobile devices should work and perform as many functions as our laptops and desktops. I suspect Apple is working hard behind the scenes to either merge the two, or give iOS the tools needed to supplant OS X.

    • twelve01 - 8 years ago

      Also, iPad has always outsold surface. This is not the Apple’s bar for success.

    • Jake Becker - 8 years ago

      but muh proper dedicated file system tho

    • Liam Deckham - 8 years ago

      This is the ‘daftest’ thinking that I have ever seen. We pay Apple our hard earned money. If I am going to buy an iPad Pro or whatever, I want it to do as many things as possible. Why do I need to store files in multiple apps? Why can there not be a Finder-like feature? Why can I not use iCloud like I want to use it? If I take some naughty pics of my girlfriend, why should they automatically stream to the Apple TV and all my other iOS devices? WiFi is not as readily available as AC power, why must I store everything in the cloud?

      As consumers, it is critical for us to say to Apple, “Why can we not do that?” As soon as we stop, we become spoon-fed consumers (and believe me we are very close).

      I say demand more of Apple. We do not serve them! I want more OS X experience on my iPad, a 2 TB MacBook Pro, and control over what the hell gets streamed over my devices!

    • Liam Deckham - 8 years ago

      This is the ‘daftest’ thinking that I have ever seen. We pay Apple our hard earned money. If I am going to buy an iPad Pro or whatever, I want it to do as many things as possible. Why do I need to store files in multiple apps? Why can there not be a Finder-like feature? Why can I not use iCloud like I want to use it? If I take some naughty pics of my girlfriend, why should they automatically stream to the Apple TV and all my other iOS devices? WiFi is not as readily available as AC power, why must I store everything in the cloud?

      As consumers, it is critical for us to say to Apple, “Why can we not do that?” As soon as we stop, we become spoon-fed consumers (and believe me we are very close).

      I say demand more of Apple. We do not serve them! I want more OS X experience on my iPad, a 2 TB MacBook Pro, and control over what the hell gets streamed over my devices!

  2. macnificentseven48 - 8 years ago

    As if anyone on Wall Street cares about about that. Microsoft is said to have a bright future and Apple doesn’t. No high growth from Apple means the company is in decline. Microsoft is valued to be a better investment than Apple so that’s where investor money is going. Any product sales from Apple that doesn’t involve iPhones isn’t worth anything to investors.

  3. Oflife - 8 years ago

    Sorry, this is irrelevant! Of course the iPad Pro will outsell the Surface, it’s 1/2 the price! The Surface is a real computer and so will not sell in the quantities that a limited capability iOS device will. I have a Surface and could not do 50% of what I do on any iOS or Android tablet what I can do on the Surface, in particular, speedy efficient file management from the File Explorer, or running proper apps that can import and export multiple file types from multiple sources, such as USB device, cloud services, desktop! and so on.

    iPad Pro should be compared to an Android tablet or non Windows 10 Windows tablet, but not the Surface. Different market!

    • avalonharmon - 8 years ago

      The iPad pro and surface pro have the same starting price with including accessories the iPad pro costing slightly more so I’m not sure where your getting your information from.

      • scumbolt2014 - 8 years ago

        I’d guess their information is coming from their but.

    • Theo Werulf - 8 years ago

      I think you’re a little confused.. although you’re in the right direction. The Surface Pros start at US$800 and go all the way to US$3200. The iPad Pros start at $700 and go to $1025. That being said – the Surface 3s start at $500 and go to $700 – which is actually *cheaper* than the iPad Pro – but is only at 10.1″ screen.

      • Oflife - 8 years ago

        Not confused. My main point was that the iPad Pro is NOT a computer. No professional would use one exclusively run their business or creative studio. I am a creative power user who has owned every Apple device ever mad (and tried the iPad Pro), and iOS is for consumption, gaming and limited creative work. Apple never planned ‘iPhone OS’ to be used fo productivity, unlike say OS X or Windows, it has no file structure or UX to cope wth the random flexible demands of creative or production professionals. If Apple launched a device like the Surface Pro, believe me, I would buy one over Microsoft’s because for all the Surface Pro’s industrial design brilliance, Windows is still masively flawed and inconsistent. I put up with it because once you are using an app (such as Adobe Illustrator) or doing something in the browser, it’s irrelevant.

  4. juancastim135 - 8 years ago

    The iPad benefits of being in way more markets/countries than the Surface

    • Seika - 8 years ago

      Microsoft said: What country ? You sure it exist ? Because we don’t see anything like that in our world map.

  5. airmanchairman - 8 years ago

    It never seems to change, this vagueness due to companies’ diverse practices of revenue reporting:

    “Apple SOLD 16.1 million iPads in the last quarter of 2015…”

    “Samsung with 9 million units SHIPPED…”

    • Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 8 years ago

      Shipped typically means sold when you talk to a mfg. They typically either sell the product direct if they have an on-line store or their own brick and mortar, or have shipped to resellers that stick product in their inventory, but it typically means sold. I don’t know how much Samsung product gets returned back to Samsung as they probably have to give discount credit if the reseller can’t move inventory. Samsung does that a lot by giving rebates, or incentives to move product to reseller managers and sales staff. At one point, Samsung was giving sales people at these cell phone stores a $25 check for each Galaxy phone they sold above their normal commission and the also gave their store managers spiff money as well.

      The other thing Samsung has been known to do is to offer free product when you purchase something from them. I can count how many times T-Mobile has tried to pawn off a Galaxy phone and a free Galaxy tablet. But that promotion never worked on me, but it does to many unsuspecting consumers.

      • airmanchairman - 8 years ago

        You likely never heard of the decades-old practice of “stuffing the channel” or perhaps simply forgot about it. This is what makes the reported figures so vague and shifty.

  6. Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 8 years ago

    Just to give some insight. I bumped into a friend of mine that manages a Marriott’s hotel. They are migrating to IPads away from Windows computers. They weren’t sure as to which model and how many employees will be getting them, but right now, they their maintenance and housekeeping managers and some of their employees already use iPhones. But they are ditching their Windows PCs in favor of iPads. I also think that their housekeeping staff, which currently does the job manually imputing when they clean a room and having an iPad will alleviate that part as they can update their internal system in real time so they can book a new room as fast as it becomes available rather than waiting until it manually gets updated. They said that Marriott’s corporate has been migrating most of their corporate hotels first and the franchises are done later and that it’s been several years since they started the effort. I plan on catching up with them in about 6 months to see what they actually do as they weren’t sure on which model iPads and how many of their staff are getting them, but that’s what going on at Marriott’s and they are the biggest in terms of revenue and around 3rd in number of locations. They have about 200,000 employees, but i don’t think that includes the franchises. That I’m not sure about. Not everyone that uses a tablet needs a full blown OS or mouse/cursor, it all depends on the application and user’s actual needs.

    They mentioned that a lot of hotels are moving to IPads as their needs don’t require anything more than that and they just care about taking reservations, checking people in, managing the hotel and things like that. They use spreadsheets, but nothing that incredibly difficult and their systems are custom tailored around their business.

  7. Jason Clishe (@JClishe) - 8 years ago

    Who’s buying them? I’m consistently seeing more and more Surface Pro’s in coffee shops and airplanes, but I’ve yet to see a single iPad Pro in the wild, anywhere. At Starbucks the other day I counted 4 people using Surface Pro’s, 1 iPad Air, and 1 Mac. As someone that travels alot, my own anecdotal evidence tells me that there’s no question the Surface Pro is picking up momentum.

    If you want a tablet, the iPad Air is a fantastic choice. If you want an ultrabook that can also be a tablet with a great inking experience, the Surface Pro is a fantastic choice.

    • greenbelt2csp - 8 years ago

      Well, iPad pro has been out for one quarter, so certainly there are more Surfaces out there. I agree as a heavy traveller, I see more surfaces, but 9/10 they are looking at the start menu and what could easily be confused for Windows 7 with a skin on it. IOW: These people are not using these surfaces in any new way whatsoever, disk defragger and all. This won’t last much longer. The world is going to App and Webapps and there the iPad Pro will conquer the Surface’s legacy mentality.

  8. iali87 - 8 years ago

    I have both and could say that comparing them is like comparing a thermostat to treadmills. I use my surface for work(programming and photoshop) and I think most enterprise will prefer surface over iPad. I use my iPad pro to play games, watch movies, and reading books, iPad is unbeatable when it comes to apps.
    I personally prefer the surface pen because the pin has thinner tip, more accurate, and feels better. I prefer my ipad when i am on a trip or in the airport because of it’s awesome battery.

    • I can’t believe it, the number of #2 pencils sold at the start of the school year outsold the iPAD pro? I guess I’m reading the tea leaves here but since more pencils have been sold, Apple’s days are numbered.

      Apple fanbois need to quit with their contextual arguments. The Surface pro sucks cause you have to pay for the keyboard. When ipad pro comes out and the pencil is sold separate it’s a wise business decision to keep costs down lol.

  9. Theo Werulf - 8 years ago

    There’s a bunch of issues with this way of comparing products but the biggest one is that the Surface Pro and Book are targeted to a fairly different market – and has a somewhat different price point – US$800 to US$3,200…

    It’s really best compared to MacBook Pros. It’s just that people seem to need to put things into familiar categories and the Surface devices don’t fit those well. It’s a tablet, sure – but it’s running full Windows and when you pop out the kickstand and attack the typecover – it’s really a full Windows ultralight laptop. When you put it into a dock and connect it to a regular monitor, keyboard and mouse, it’s basically a desktop system and can run all normal full desktop applications (heck, my Surface Pro 3 can even run Watch_Dogs – try that on an iPad Pro). So what do you compare it to?

    But if we are going to play ‘move the goalposts’.. why not just get it over with and include all the iPads.. I mean, technically, the Surface 3 is to the Surface Pro 4 as the iPad Air 2 is to the iPad Pro… Then we could say ‘Apple shipped 49.6M iPads vs Microsoft’s mere 1.6M Surface devices’. It’s true, but most readers will know that that just sounds weird.

    Because it is for the same reason comparing Surface to iPad market share is weird.

  10. tomtubbs - 8 years ago

    Is there an actual figure for number of Surfaces sold in 2015?

  11. Robin Sayer - 8 years ago

    Brain dead article: So yeah paperclips outsold the Surface Pro too – so what. You’re not comparing two devices in the same class or category.

  12. Ashish Asawa - 8 years ago

    Its so funny, people here are saying don’t compare iPad pro with surface on sales, but when it was launch, every tom, dick and harry was comparing surface and iPad Pro, and most of them saying why would one buy iPad pro over surface, or surface is better than iPad over value for money etc etc. But Apple proves them again wrong, they understand there users better then these reviewers.

  13. Yannick B (@ybouc) - 8 years ago

    Oh, Apple blew past MS as soon as they could make enough? How about the fact that MS still can’t make enough Surfaces? But that’s fine, not expecting objective reporting on a place called 9to5Mac. :)

  14. Kidd ddddf (@kidd_ddddf) - 8 years ago

    I don’t understand the people who say they use the surface for work. As a work computer , compared to other laptops the surface is overpriced and underpowered. So surface users are willing to pay a premium just so they can occasionally use the surface as a mediocre tablet. As a tablet surface is too heavy at 2 lbs and has sharp corners and is uncomfortable to hold. Why not buy a good laptop and a good tablet? It would probably cost less than a surface.

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.