Apple registers best iPad sales performance since 2014 as tablet market strengthens

Following the official announcement of Apple’s Q1 2021 earnings results on Wednesday, Canalys shared today a new research that reveals the company has registered the best performance in iPad sales since the fourth quarter of 2014. Moreover, Apple was the second-largest seller of PCs and tablets during Q4 2020.

According to the research, Apple shipped 26.4 million Macs and iPads during the fourth quarter of 2020 and a total of 81.4 million units during the entire year. Of these 26.4 million units, 19.2 million were iPads — representing a 40% year-on-year growth.

The research firm says the overall computer and tablet market grew significantly in 2020 as we entered a “new era of greater flexibility in work arrangements,” referring to people working from home due to the pandemic. Canalys analyst Ishan Dutt said tablets will be a crucial sales element for companies like Apple and Samsung, which have been prioritizing the category in their product lineup.

Their [the tablets] versatility across, not just different form factors and price points, but also connectivity options, make them an ideal device across a variety of use-cases, from simple slates for e-learning and content consumption all the way to high-performance detachables for productivity users who are adapting to spending a larger proportion of time at home.

The research also points out that Chromebooks devices registered record shipment volumes, with 11.2 million units shipped in the last quarter and 30.6 million units shipped in 2020. When considering computer and tablet sales combined in Q4 2020, Lenovo came in first place with 20% market share, while Apple comes right next with 18% share.

As announced on Wednesday, Apple has reported a record-breaking $111.44 billion in revenue and profit of $28.76 billion for the first fiscal quarter of 2021. Although the company no longer reports unit sales numbers for its products, it reported $8.44 billion in revenue from iPad sales and $8.68 billion from Mac sales.