The iPad2 is sluggish with iOS9. I would buy an "Air3" today if they launched it. If they don't announce a replacement for the Air 2 during the winter, I'll get one of those.
Then you better buy it now because Apple's holiday lineup is set. And the Air 2 is a phenomenal device.
I'm eager to see next quarter's report with 100% marketshare in the >$1000+ tablet sector.
You're forgetting the two higher-end Surface Pro 4 units -- and actually the outcome will be quite telling for Microsoft.
Again, the battle here is between Microsoft's "The tablet that can replace your laptop" (this is their main tag line for the Surface Pro) and Apple's iPad Pro, which is not being billed as a laptop replacement, but rather as an über-powerful tablet that "adds another dimension" to the iPad's "uniquely simple yet immersive experience."
I'm not forgetting the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro, but it lands on the Apple side of the battlefield here, so both are cutting into the Surface Pro's market.
It looks to me like Apple is out aggressively swinging marketing deals with the carriers to push Apple products, with the iPad Air2 and iPad Mini 4 the latest with special deals. Swing by T-Mo to take advantage if you're in the market for one not tied to wi-fi only. $26/mo (iPad Air 2) or $22/month (iPad mini 4) for 18-mo lease.
Verizon is giving away an iPad mini with cellular if you trade in your old iPhone. I traded in my old iPhone 5 and asked for a regular iPad instead. For an extra $250 I walked out with no contract on the latest full-sized iPad, with 64Gb and cellular in my choice of color.
My old iPad was doing just fine but I was feeling the squeeze on the 16Gb max storage.
Well, you certainly seem to be the most concerned person in the world with Apple's image. You post relentlessly about what each person is saying what about Apple, how that could be bad for Apple, and how Tim Cook needs to do more to protect Apple's image/reputation/whatever. So much so that you believe an initiative to sell more iPads into the enterprise (so Apple can sell more iPads and make more money) is a bad idea because "someone on the Internet" is saying that it is an example of Apple failing.
Perspective much?
Hey as a fan I do care about the narrative and perception of the company and I do think there's more Apple could do to change that perception. It pisses me off that the view of Apple competitors is their best days are ahead of them but Apple's best days are behind it. I know I shouldn't care but I can't help it, I do.
I'm still using an iPad 2 and didn't notice any more slow down upgrading to iOS9, in fact I feel like iOS9 made it tiny bit more responsive. Not sure what others have experienced. Is it still sluggish? So much so, that I feel like I'm re-living dial-up all over again.
Glad it worked for you.
iOS 8 absolutely killed my iPad 2 so much so that it became unusable.
Had I never tried going form iOS 6->iOS 8 I would still be using it and been happy with it today I am sure.
Begrudgingly I purchased an iPad Air 2 and even though I am not yet over the frustration & anger at a simple really iOS upgrade slaughtering my iPad 2 it really is in a totally different league.
I would like to have told Apple to shove it and never buy an Apple device ever again but when I look around for me anyway there really is no choice.
As it is Sir Jony's obsession with form over function has killed any possibility of my upgrading my iMac, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro to anything currently on the market or any other device in the future I fear.
Spoken like a true Apple fanboy. When Cupertino speaks, you obey, not noticing that as SD slot is much smaller than a CD player, or that it is so useful for added storage that Amazon felt compelled to include one on their $50 tablet.
A removable battery is no big deal. Having one that's user-replacable at a reasonable cost and without special tools would be nice.
Like I said, Apple fanboys never seem to challenge anything Cupertino does.
Spoken like a true Apple fanboy. When Cupertino speaks, you obey, not noticing that as SD slot is much smaller than a CD player, or that it is so useful for added storage that Amazon felt compelled to include one on their $50 tablet.
A removable battery is no big deal. Having one that's user-replacable at a reasonable cost and without special tools would be nice.
Like I said, Apple fanboys never seem to challenge anything Cupertino does.
Or, they could just include the best battery that they could possibly fit into the iPad (one that actually does last 10 hours), and have it last 3.5 years (and counting) without the need of making it user-repleacable (which is exactly what they did). That's not Apple fanaticism, that's just fact.
Because, why make the battery replaceable if it will probably never need to be replaced for the life of the unit. My wife's iPhone 5 is doing just fine with its non-user-replaceable battery. Can't say the same for my co-worker who is on his 3rd battery for his LG G3.
At their disgression Cook can announce specific unit sales. For example they could have announced 48 million iPhones sold and record number of Macs. No reason to announce ipad sales.
IMO, the less information Apple gives to Wall Street the better.
Absolutely! Wouldn't be surprised if Apple trends towards this way of reporting.
I have an iPad 2 I bought in 2010 which is still running well. After using it for 5 years, I bought a new iPad Air 2 this year which was a nice upgrade (much faster CPU, Touch ID, improved non-glare screen, split-screen, Siri, etc). I don't anticipate upgrading again for many years.
My old iPad 2 still looks new, sleek and shiny, runs iOS 9, and is still very functional although a bit more sluggish than the Air 2. How many 5-year old Android tablets are still running around?
I'm not sure if iPads are declining (as in becoming irrelevant). Or if its more that they are well made and tend not to be replaced as frequently like iPhones. My iPad, iPhone and MBP all have their pros/cons. But I do prefer the iPad for watching video, perusing photo albums, and reading my dozen or so magazine and newspaper subscriptions (no more paper mags clogging my mailbox).
I don't agree that the life cycle of 4-5 years is the main reason for the decline of the iPad sales. A Mac has a similar life cycle and the sales of Macs are going up.
Apple is just not capable of attracting enough new customers for an iPad. It cannot be the excellent hardware, nor the wealth of excellent apps. My feeling is that a lot of potential customers are frightened by the limitations of the iPad: no connection capabilities (USB, SD card), crippled local file management, ... Some tasks on an iPad are much more complicated than needed: sending an e-mail with 2 attachments is such an example.
Well that’s the rub Wall Street is obsessed over. Wall Street wants turnover, churn, new stuff being sold, growth, incessant growth. The very strengths you point out are considered weaknesses by analysts. Android devices have very little resale value, don’t last as long as iOS devices so there’s constant chucking of the old and buying the new. Not so with Apple as you point out.
They also don't understand that Apple doesn't sell devices, they sell themselves, their brand, their ecosystem. If they continue owning something Apple and using it, it's a wedge through which ANY product can come in.
Those so called analysts seems to not get Apple at all, ever.
Spoken like a true Apple fanboy. When Cupertino speaks, you obey, not noticing that as SD slot is much smaller than a CD player, or that it is so useful for added storage that Amazon felt compelled to include one on their $50 tablet.
A removable battery is no big deal. Having one that's user-replacable at a reasonable cost and without special tools would be nice.
Like I said, Apple fanboys never seem to challenge anything Cupertino does.
Either you bring in facts, you desist from crapping out garbage.
Funny how those shit tablet like Amazon are falling in sales faster than the Ipad; must be all that good stuff they're "adding".
Anything who fanboy is ignored instantly, so good riddance buddy.
But could it be that people expect more from a tablet than the iPad can deliver currently.
I know I do, but could this be the reason the iPad attracts less new buyers than expected?
I think the iPad Pro is a nice step in the right direction, hardware wise, but the software is lagging a lot in my opinion (maybe we have to wait for something similar to the 'autopilot' update of Tesla).
Edit: it could also be that Apple is in a split about this because selling a lowest margin device (iPad) versus an ultra high margin device (iPhone, MacBook) isn't very attractive. This is also the case for de Mac Mini and the new Apple TV, hardware similar capable but very expensive and 'cheap' respectively ($500 and $150).
I don't agree that the life cycle of 4-5 years is the main reason for the decline of the iPad sales. A Mac has a similar life cycle and the sales of Macs are going up.
The only problem with this theory is that most market share estimates put Macs in the sub-10% range. This, of course, leaves lots of room for growth. The iPad, however, represents a sizable percentage of the premium tablet market, with much less room for growth.
I don't agree that the life cycle of 4-5 years is the main reason for the decline of the iPad sales. A Mac has a similar life cycle and the sales of Macs are going up.
Apple is just not capable of attracting enough new customers for an iPad. It cannot be the excellent hardware, nor the wealth of excellent apps. My feeling is that a lot of potential customers are frightened by the limitations of the iPad: no connection capabilities (USB, SD card), crippled local file management, ... Some tasks on an iPad are much more complicated than needed: sending an e-mail with 2 attachments is such an example.
A simple answer to the first point is that Macs have been building an installed base for decades, and the iPad only a little over 5 years. Anecdotally we certainly read of many still using iPad 2s and not yet upgrading. That is the case with my in-laws, where we bought them an iPad 2 in 2011 and they are still using it daily at iOS8. We might get them a new Air for Christmas.
There have been ~290M iPads sold to date, with only about ~20M being iPad 1s. So the installed iPad base as of end last quarter could be about 260M+ units. Many/most of those early units (iPads 2/3/4 & earlier Minis) are believed in use - often through the hand-me-down process, and thus are still potential upgrades. With the iPad's high user satisfaction rate, IMO most users will eventually upgrade.
I do agree that the "use cases" for iPad likely hit the plateau, and thus "new" users is much less than before, but IMO the majority are not looking for the things you want - USB, SD card, full PC-like file system. For sure there are a % that want an Apple "surface", but my view is that it is small %. I think what Apple is doing with the iPad Pro - allowing optional stylus input - will do more to increase use cases. I think when (if) they bring some of the Pro functionality down to the Air size, we will see increased new users & upgraders.
The fact that Apple makes such long-lived devices is what is keeping me in their ecosystem, expanding my devices and services over time, and why I promote their products. I started with an iPod 3rd gen (classic line) as my first Apple device, and now in my family we have (active) an iMac, MacBook Pro (work), 3 iPads, 3 iPhones, 2 iPod touches, 2 Apple TVs, and an Apple Watch - all collected over an 11 year time span. Great quality, aesthetics, attention to detail, long-lived s/w support, ecosystem & continuing to improve the lines does get you loyalty!! A new Apple TV and some Apple Watch bands are on my Christmas list.
I am hoping to go 10 years with my iMac (2009) before we upgrade, but upgrade to a new Mac we shall. The iPads will stay as is until something really new comes in the Air size (Pro-like features), or until they fail. iPhones get upgraded every 2-3 years.
Someday, maybe, the market will value Apple's user base with this loyalty and expansion in mind.
My iPad Air starting gathering dust the day I bought an iPhone6+. I only use my iPad for ONE iPad-only app that we use for the enterprise. That's it. I firmly believe that iPad sales are down for two reasons:
1 - 6+ phones are being purchased instead of iPads. Makes sense. I did it, and am positive many more did it as well. The iPhone has a higher margin than an iPad as well so Apple wins, instead of that customer leaving and buying a non-Apple product. Apple is/was smart.
2 - The tablet market is beginning to saturate. Many people with iPads don't feel the need to upgrade for a few years as they are so darn reliable. For many, an iPad is their main "computer" and it does the basics perfectly. Not much else needed.
The Wall Street idiots are being incredibly stupid. Apple keeps the consumer in their brand. So even if they lose an iPad sale, they gain that iPhone sale. WTF? That's a great position to be in.
They don't need to be replaced every year. Or two. Or even three. They continue to work and be useful.
Some folks don't understand this.
Additionally, larger iPhones are naturally cannibalizing some iPad sales.
With Apple, one product grows from and into another. There's some natural overlap that also makes transitioning from one product to the other dead-easy. Love your iPad Mini? No problem. You'll feel right at home on your iPhone 6s Plus. And so on.
And yet Apple seems so overly anxious to protect iMacs from being cannibalized by other Mac desktops.
That's a lick on Cook. He has an opportunity at the start of the Earnings Call to make pertinent points to make his case...he doesn't have to wait to be "asked." This guy is no Steve Jobs for sure!
Comments
The iPad2 is sluggish with iOS9. I would buy an "Air3" today if they launched it. If they don't announce a replacement for the Air 2 during the winter, I'll get one of those.
Then you better buy it now because Apple's holiday lineup is set. And the Air 2 is a phenomenal device.
I'm eager to see next quarter's report with 100% marketshare in the >$1000+ tablet sector.
You're forgetting the two higher-end Surface Pro 4 units -- and actually the outcome will be quite telling for Microsoft.
Again, the battle here is between Microsoft's "The tablet that can replace your laptop" (this is their main tag line for the Surface Pro) and Apple's iPad Pro, which is not being billed as a laptop replacement, but rather as an über-powerful tablet that "adds another dimension" to the iPad's "uniquely simple yet immersive experience."
I'm not forgetting the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro, but it lands on the Apple side of the battlefield here, so both are cutting into the Surface Pro's market.
Verizon is giving away an iPad mini with cellular if you trade in your old iPhone. I traded in my old iPhone 5 and asked for a regular iPad instead. For an extra $250 I walked out with no contract on the latest full-sized iPad, with 64Gb and cellular in my choice of color.
My old iPad was doing just fine but I was feeling the squeeze on the 16Gb max storage.
Hey as a fan I do care about the narrative and perception of the company and I do think there's more Apple could do to change that perception. It pisses me off that the view of Apple competitors is their best days are ahead of them but Apple's best days are behind it. I know I shouldn't care but I can't help it, I do.
I'm still using an iPad 2 and didn't notice any more slow down upgrading to iOS9, in fact I feel like iOS9 made it tiny bit more responsive. Not sure what others have experienced. Is it still sluggish? So much so, that I feel like I'm re-living dial-up all over again.
Glad it worked for you.
iOS 8 absolutely killed my iPad 2 so much so that it became unusable.
Had I never tried going form iOS 6->iOS 8 I would still be using it and been happy with it today I am sure.
Begrudgingly I purchased an iPad Air 2 and even though I am not yet over the frustration & anger at a simple really iOS upgrade slaughtering my iPad 2 it really is in a totally different league.
I would like to have told Apple to shove it and never buy an Apple device ever again but when I look around for me anyway there really is no choice.
As it is Sir Jony's obsession with form over function has killed any possibility of my upgrading my iMac, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro to anything currently on the market or any other device in the future I fear.
Spoken like a true Apple fanboy. When Cupertino speaks, you obey, not noticing that as SD slot is much smaller than a CD player, or that it is so useful for added storage that Amazon felt compelled to include one on their $50 tablet.
A removable battery is no big deal. Having one that's user-replacable at a reasonable cost and without special tools would be nice.
Like I said, Apple fanboys never seem to challenge anything Cupertino does.
Spoken like a true Apple fanboy. When Cupertino speaks, you obey, not noticing that as SD slot is much smaller than a CD player, or that it is so useful for added storage that Amazon felt compelled to include one on their $50 tablet.
A removable battery is no big deal. Having one that's user-replacable at a reasonable cost and without special tools would be nice.
Like I said, Apple fanboys never seem to challenge anything Cupertino does.
Or, they could just include the best battery that they could possibly fit into the iPad (one that actually does last 10 hours), and have it last 3.5 years (and counting) without the need of making it user-repleacable (which is exactly what they did). That's not Apple fanaticism, that's just fact.
Because, why make the battery replaceable if it will probably never need to be replaced for the life of the unit. My wife's iPhone 5 is doing just fine with its non-user-replaceable battery. Can't say the same for my co-worker who is on his 3rd battery for his LG G3.
At their disgression Cook can announce specific unit sales. For example they could have announced 48 million iPhones sold and record number of Macs. No reason to announce ipad sales.
IMO, the less information Apple gives to Wall Street the better.
Absolutely! Wouldn't be surprised if Apple trends towards this way of reporting.
I have an iPad 2 I bought in 2010 which is still running well. After using it for 5 years, I bought a new iPad Air 2 this year which was a nice upgrade (much faster CPU, Touch ID, improved non-glare screen, split-screen, Siri, etc). I don't anticipate upgrading again for many years.
My old iPad 2 still looks new, sleek and shiny, runs iOS 9, and is still very functional although a bit more sluggish than the Air 2. How many 5-year old Android tablets are still running around?
I'm not sure if iPads are declining (as in becoming irrelevant). Or if its more that they are well made and tend not to be replaced as frequently like iPhones. My iPad, iPhone and MBP all have their pros/cons. But I do prefer the iPad for watching video, perusing photo albums, and reading my dozen or so magazine and newspaper subscriptions (no more paper mags clogging my mailbox).
I don't agree that the life cycle of 4-5 years is the main reason for the decline of the iPad sales. A Mac has a similar life cycle and the sales of Macs are going up.
Apple is just not capable of attracting enough new customers for an iPad. It cannot be the excellent hardware, nor the wealth of excellent apps. My feeling is that a lot of potential customers are frightened by the limitations of the iPad: no connection capabilities (USB, SD card), crippled local file management, ... Some tasks on an iPad are much more complicated than needed: sending an e-mail with 2 attachments is such an example.
Well that’s the rub Wall Street is obsessed over. Wall Street wants turnover, churn, new stuff being sold, growth, incessant growth. The very strengths you point out are considered weaknesses by analysts. Android devices have very little resale value, don’t last as long as iOS devices so there’s constant chucking of the old and buying the new. Not so with Apple as you point out.
They also don't understand that Apple doesn't sell devices, they sell themselves, their brand, their ecosystem. If they continue owning something Apple and using it, it's a wedge through which ANY product can come in.
Those so called analysts seems to not get Apple at all, ever.
Spoken like a true Apple fanboy. When Cupertino speaks, you obey, not noticing that as SD slot is much smaller than a CD player, or that it is so useful for added storage that Amazon felt compelled to include one on their $50 tablet.
A removable battery is no big deal. Having one that's user-replacable at a reasonable cost and without special tools would be nice.
Like I said, Apple fanboys never seem to challenge anything Cupertino does.
Either you bring in facts, you desist from crapping out garbage.
Funny how those shit tablet like Amazon are falling in sales faster than the Ipad; must be all that good stuff they're "adding".
Anything who fanboy is ignored instantly, so good riddance buddy.
But could it be that people expect more from a tablet than the iPad can deliver currently.
I know I do, but could this be the reason the iPad attracts less new buyers than expected?
I think the iPad Pro is a nice step in the right direction, hardware wise, but the software is lagging a lot in my opinion (maybe we have to wait for something similar to the 'autopilot' update of Tesla).
Edit: it could also be that Apple is in a split about this because selling a lowest margin device (iPad) versus an ultra high margin device (iPhone, MacBook) isn't very attractive. This is also the case for de Mac Mini and the new Apple TV, hardware similar capable but very expensive and 'cheap' respectively ($500 and $150).
I don't agree that the life cycle of 4-5 years is the main reason for the decline of the iPad sales. A Mac has a similar life cycle and the sales of Macs are going up.
The only problem with this theory is that most market share estimates put Macs in the sub-10% range. This, of course, leaves lots of room for growth. The iPad, however, represents a sizable percentage of the premium tablet market, with much less room for growth.
AAPL saw an interesting 4% rise today...based on what, exactly? Maybe the Fed announcement that rates will rise this year "fer shure".
I don't agree that the life cycle of 4-5 years is the main reason for the decline of the iPad sales. A Mac has a similar life cycle and the sales of Macs are going up.
Apple is just not capable of attracting enough new customers for an iPad. It cannot be the excellent hardware, nor the wealth of excellent apps. My feeling is that a lot of potential customers are frightened by the limitations of the iPad: no connection capabilities (USB, SD card), crippled local file management, ... Some tasks on an iPad are much more complicated than needed: sending an e-mail with 2 attachments is such an example.
A simple answer to the first point is that Macs have been building an installed base for decades, and the iPad only a little over 5 years. Anecdotally we certainly read of many still using iPad 2s and not yet upgrading. That is the case with my in-laws, where we bought them an iPad 2 in 2011 and they are still using it daily at iOS8. We might get them a new Air for Christmas.
There have been ~290M iPads sold to date, with only about ~20M being iPad 1s. So the installed iPad base as of end last quarter could be about 260M+ units. Many/most of those early units (iPads 2/3/4 & earlier Minis) are believed in use - often through the hand-me-down process, and thus are still potential upgrades. With the iPad's high user satisfaction rate, IMO most users will eventually upgrade.
I do agree that the "use cases" for iPad likely hit the plateau, and thus "new" users is much less than before, but IMO the majority are not looking for the things you want - USB, SD card, full PC-like file system. For sure there are a % that want an Apple "surface", but my view is that it is small %. I think what Apple is doing with the iPad Pro - allowing optional stylus input - will do more to increase use cases. I think when (if) they bring some of the Pro functionality down to the Air size, we will see increased new users & upgraders.
The fact that Apple makes such long-lived devices is what is keeping me in their ecosystem, expanding my devices and services over time, and why I promote their products. I started with an iPod 3rd gen (classic line) as my first Apple device, and now in my family we have (active) an iMac, MacBook Pro (work), 3 iPads, 3 iPhones, 2 iPod touches, 2 Apple TVs, and an Apple Watch - all collected over an 11 year time span. Great quality, aesthetics, attention to detail, long-lived s/w support, ecosystem & continuing to improve the lines does get you loyalty!! A new Apple TV and some Apple Watch bands are on my Christmas list.
I am hoping to go 10 years with my iMac (2009) before we upgrade, but upgrade to a new Mac we shall. The iPads will stay as is until something really new comes in the Air size (Pro-like features), or until they fail. iPhones get upgraded every 2-3 years.
Someday, maybe, the market will value Apple's user base with this loyalty and expansion in mind.
My iPad Air starting gathering dust the day I bought an iPhone6+. I only use my iPad for ONE iPad-only app that we use for the enterprise. That's it. I firmly believe that iPad sales are down for two reasons:
1 - 6+ phones are being purchased instead of iPads. Makes sense. I did it, and am positive many more did it as well. The iPhone has a higher margin than an iPad as well so Apple wins, instead of that customer leaving and buying a non-Apple product. Apple is/was smart.
2 - The tablet market is beginning to saturate. Many people with iPads don't feel the need to upgrade for a few years as they are so darn reliable. For many, an iPad is their main "computer" and it does the basics perfectly. Not much else needed.
The Wall Street idiots are being incredibly stupid. Apple keeps the consumer in their brand. So even if they lose an iPad sale, they gain that iPhone sale. WTF? That's a great position to be in.
iPads are a lot like Macs.
They don't need to be replaced every year. Or two. Or even three. They continue to work and be useful.
Some folks don't understand this.
Additionally, larger iPhones are naturally cannibalizing some iPad sales.
With Apple, one product grows from and into another. There's some natural overlap that also makes transitioning from one product to the other dead-easy. Love your iPad Mini? No problem. You'll feel right at home on your iPhone 6s Plus. And so on.
And yet Apple seems so overly anxious to protect iMacs from being cannibalized by other Mac desktops.