Unlike netbooks and other cheap, crappy fads, iPads are here to stay. They're not going away anytime soon.
I don't think them going away is the problem being suggested. The problem is that the iPads last too long and people aren't upgrading them, which is stalling their growth numbers. Over 200 million tablets is impressive but quarterly sales aren't near that. There are graphs here showing units:
The Mac is fairly steady but dropping slowly, iPods are tanking fast, the iPhone is still very much the most popular product and iPads are showing some slowdown. People seem more compelled to upgrade phones even if they work perfectly well but not so with tablets. The growth really has to come from new users but with over 200 million sales, where will the new users come from? The entire PC market is only around 300 million units.
I think one way they can boost growth is by introducing tactile touch to the tablets and change the whole experience. That would be a boost for app developers and tablet sales. There are childrens books that have pages with different materials so that kids can feel the different textures. If they can do that well enough in digital form, that would persuade people to upgrade.
The IBM partnership will help, but it will not significantly boost iPad sales. IBM doesn't really have a sales organization geared to selling end user devices and not every company is working with IBM Global Services. In order to move the needle Apple will have to convince existing users to upgrade and bring lots of new users into the fold. I personally see no reason to upgrade my iPad 4 since it runs everything just great. A 12" iPad could be interesting, especially with a decent keyboard case...
Isn't a 12" iPad with a keyboard basically a MBA running iOS? Who wants that?
Apple iPad year-on-year has a 9% decline. Globally, Android tablets have a year-on-year 84% or 102% increase, depending on your source. You might say that Android tablets are junk. Okay, but then you are saying that the iPad is losing out to "junk".
I'm just the person Apple should be reaching. I've got older models of virtually every member in Apple's family of products. Only one, my Mac mini, is a current model. My MacBook is seven years old and two versions of OS X back. Why don't I upgrade?
Better to ask, "Why I should upgrade?" Much of what Apple sells isn't that different from what it was selling two years ago, with the MacBook Air being a prime example. That leaves me with the feeling that, if I buy now, in a few months there will be that big change, and I'll regret it. I don't like to buy the last of a design.
Apple needs to bring out genuinely new products rather that tweaks, so users sitting on the fence like me have a reason to commit. The MBA, for instance, needs a Retina screen, a much smaller power brick, and 8 gig of RAM standard.
You don't upgrade because you don't have to yet. If your current set up was old to the point of no use you would upgrade now and not wait any longer for the change of a bigger change. Your current set up works good enough that you are willing to wait for a bigger upgrade. Which it's a good thing.
iPad have level off with sale. Sales will go down may be another two quarter and the it will increase slightly to plato level. From that point on it will increase sale in small amount over time. Just like it happened to the Mac and iPhone.
My MacBook is seven years old and two versions of OS X back. […] "Why I should upgrade?" […] Apple needs to bring out genuinely new products rather that tweaks, so users sitting on the fence like me have a reason to commit. The MBA, for instance, needs a Retina screen, a much smaller power brick, and 8 gig of RAM standard.
You can't tell me that the difference between your MacBook and a latest 13" MBP are just some tweaks. There are innumerable radical changes that make it perform better as well be a much better experience.
"Some of us are behind schedule. I'm still waiting to have a need for one of them newfangled gadgets--and I'm getting tired of waiting!"
Well it's true that iPads aren't necessarily for everyone -- but most of the time I think sentiments like the above are just a failure of imagination.
What the iPad has done for me personally is two fold:
1. First, it has separate "work" and "play" apps. I use my notebook mostly for the former, and the iPad mostly for the latter. I sit mostly at a desk to do "work," and relax mostly on the couch or some other comfortable seat to do the latter. I find this a hugely enjoyable way to edit photos, answer email, watch videos, catch up on social media, shop online, read e-books and so forth.
2. Secondly, the iPad has given me the option of traveling light. Instead of a notebook, I take an iPad on vacation in a keyboard case. While I prefer to use my notebook for my job, I can if needed do 95 percent of my work on an iPad, so that saves me a couple of pounds and a lot of accessories when I travel. Ever tried to work on a MacBook Pro flying in coach? An iPad is WAAAY easier to manage. Now we're at the point where if I'm doing a presentation where I don't have to do a notebook-based demo of software, I just take the iPad and perhaps an Apple TV.
Time will tell. My iPad Air gets very little facetime, pardon the pun. I certainly won't be replacing it anytime soon. If I represent a trend it suggest iPad sales will continue to wane. OTOH, I may be an anomaly.
Time will tell. My iPad Air gets very little facetime, pardon the pun. I certainly won't be replacing it anytime soon. If I represent a trend it suggest iPad sales will continue to wane. OTOH, I may be an anomaly.
I wonder...
My workplace was full of people dying to buy iPads when they first came out. I didn't really see an application for one in my world, so I asked others what they intended to do with them. While a few had very specific intentions, most of them didn't seem to really know. I now wonder if many of them were already pretty much post-PC people, whose "computing" activities are primarily social, like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To them, the iPad probably looked like an improvement over both a laptop computer at one end and a smartphone at the other.
If that's all you do with an iPad, there's little incentive to upgrade. Combine that with the fact that phones are now larger and more powerful with better software options, and it's not hard to imagine that interest in tablets might wane somewhat.
iPads have been around for a few years now, and they're no longer a brand new category of product.
Also, I believe that people are keeping and using their iPads for much longer than they keep their phones for example, so the product lifespan for iPads is longer. People aren't going out and buying a brand new iPad every year, well at least most people aren't. iPads that are a few years old still work great today. Part of what makes iPads so great is that they're like an appliance that practically anybody is able to use. Do people go out and buy new refrigerators every year? Hell no.
Unlike netbooks and other cheap, crappy fads, iPads are here to stay. They're not going away anytime soon. There have been a hell of a lot pathetically named "iPad killers" that are all six feet under now, rotting away in the cemetery for technological flops and other man made disasters, but has anything ever even come close to unseating the iPad from its throne? Nope.
So iPad refresh should be every 2 years and new design should be every 4 years?
He didn't say that the iPad market is mature - only that people will use them for a longer span than iPhones.
However, Apple is continuing to add new features to the iPad to fuel the sales and keep the product in the public's eye and mind. After all, the market is huge and there's a lot of manufacturers after every crumb they can get a hold to.
iPads have been around for a few years now, and they're no longer a brand new category of product.
Also, I believe that people are keeping and using their iPads for much longer than they keep their phones for example, so the product lifespan for iPads is longer. People aren't going out and buying a brand new iPad every year, well at least most people aren't. iPads that are a few years old still work great today. Part of what makes iPads so great is that they're like an appliance that practically anybody is able to use. Do people go out and buy new refrigerators every year? Hell no.
Unlike netbooks and other cheap, crappy fads, iPads are here to stay. They're not going away anytime soon. There have been a hell of a lot pathetically named "iPad killers" that are all six feet under now, rotting away in the cemetery for technological flops and other man made disasters, but has anything ever even come close to unseating the iPad from its throne? Nope.
Exactly. Hell, I'm still making decent use out of my 2010 iPad. Sure some of the apps are slowing down a little they still work enough for me to wait a bit.
I know a bunch of people who are using the original iPad or, at least, iPad 2 who say they work great and will only upgrade when they can't run any of the apps they use. Same goes for the number of people I know that are using older iPhones with little to no issues.
I'm just the person Apple should be reaching. I've got older models of virtually every member in Apple's family of products. Only one, my Mac mini, is a current model. My MacBook is seven years old and two versions of OS X back. Why don't I upgrade?
Better to ask, "Why I should upgrade?" Much of what Apple sells isn't that different from what it was selling two years ago, with the MacBook Air being a prime example. That leaves me with the feeling that, if I buy now, in a few months there will be that big change, and I'll regret it. I don't like to buy the last of a design.
Apple needs to bring out genuinely new products rather that tweaks, so users sitting on the fence like me have a reason to commit. The MBA, for instance, needs a Retina screen, a much smaller power brick, and 8 gig of RAM standard.
Apple has five products (The iPhone, iPad, iMac, laptop and Time Machine) that I try to keep reasonably current and have a hard time doing so. All except the iMac have undergone enough updates since I bought the last one to make me want to update (and I don't even have a Apple TV to think about updating). If a person buys into the Apple experience, it is a lot of products to keep from getting long in the tooth.
They all may be getting "tweaks" but some of the tweaks are important as they freeze a user on the older side of a OS upgrade or keep your mobile devices locked to an older wifi speed, or can't support the latest apps. Just the budget to refresh every-other upgrade has one considering an upgrade on 2-3 pieces of equipment per year.
Whatever! Besides what would you expect. A product can only go so far. That's why these tech folks add new stuff to the stuff but even that becomes a joke. Soon last decades tech swag is as good as last week's tech swag.
Sorry bit I ain't buying a new freaking iPad every six months.
I think people have to the option to upgrade Apple devices far less often than the alternatives. This is because Apple hardware is high quality and lasts longer.
My previous MBP I had and used for 6 years. I reckon my brother upgraded his PC alternative each year at greeter cost overall and lesser user experience for sure.
I bet iPhone and iPad users also upgrade less often. My current iPhone is a 4s and my other half's is a 4! They both do exactly what we need them to do and don't "need" to upgrade. We will be upgrading both this year though because we "want" to. The 4s & 4 will be given to family members and this will grow the Apple user-base.
I bought an iPad Air a couple of months ago for my parents. If Apple bring out a bigger iPad Pro I'll likely replace it with one (hopefully it will have larger text for older folk). In addition I think another iPad for me will be in order so my current iPad3 can become just for my little lad to use.
Comments
I don't think them going away is the problem being suggested. The problem is that the iPads last too long and people aren't upgrading them, which is stalling their growth numbers. Over 200 million tablets is impressive but quarterly sales aren't near that. There are graphs here showing units:
http://www.macstories.net/news/apple-q3-2014-results-37-4-billion-revenue-35-2-million-iphones-13-3-million-ipads-sold/
The Mac is fairly steady but dropping slowly, iPods are tanking fast, the iPhone is still very much the most popular product and iPads are showing some slowdown. People seem more compelled to upgrade phones even if they work perfectly well but not so with tablets. The growth really has to come from new users but with over 200 million sales, where will the new users come from? The entire PC market is only around 300 million units.
I think one way they can boost growth is by introducing tactile touch to the tablets and change the whole experience. That would be a boost for app developers and tablet sales. There are childrens books that have pages with different materials so that kids can feel the different textures. If they can do that well enough in digital form, that would persuade people to upgrade.
Voice recognition dictation that saves my speech and speaking style on the cloud. In other words, you train it and it is consistent across products.
Better to ask, "Why I should upgrade?" Much of what Apple sells isn't that different from what it was selling two years ago, with the MacBook Air being a prime example. That leaves me with the feeling that, if I buy now, in a few months there will be that big change, and I'll regret it. I don't like to buy the last of a design.
Apple needs to bring out genuinely new products rather that tweaks, so users sitting on the fence like me have a reason to commit. The MBA, for instance, needs a Retina screen, a much smaller power brick, and 8 gig of RAM standard.
You don't upgrade because you don't have to yet. If your current set up was old to the point of no use you would upgrade now and not wait any longer for the change of a bigger change. Your current set up works good enough that you are willing to wait for a bigger upgrade. Which it's a good thing.
iPad have level off with sale. Sales will go down may be another two quarter and the it will increase slightly to plato level. From that point on it will increase sale in small amount over time. Just like it happened to the Mac and iPhone.
You can't tell me that the difference between your MacBook and a latest 13" MBP are just some tweaks. There are innumerable radical changes that make it perform better as well be a much better experience.
Well it's true that iPads aren't necessarily for everyone -- but most of the time I think sentiments like the above are just a failure of imagination.
What the iPad has done for me personally is two fold:
1. First, it has separate "work" and "play" apps. I use my notebook mostly for the former, and the iPad mostly for the latter. I sit mostly at a desk to do "work," and relax mostly on the couch or some other comfortable seat to do the latter. I find this a hugely enjoyable way to edit photos, answer email, watch videos, catch up on social media, shop online, read e-books and so forth.
2. Secondly, the iPad has given me the option of traveling light. Instead of a notebook, I take an iPad on vacation in a keyboard case. While I prefer to use my notebook for my job, I can if needed do 95 percent of my work on an iPad, so that saves me a couple of pounds and a lot of accessories when I travel. Ever tried to work on a MacBook Pro flying in coach? An iPad is WAAAY easier to manage. Now we're at the point where if I'm doing a presentation where I don't have to do a notebook-based demo of software, I just take the iPad and perhaps an Apple TV.
Isn't a 12" iPad with a keyboard basically a MBA running iOS? Who wants that?
An MBA (or any other true clamshell) can't function as a native portrait device.
I was determined to upgrade my iPad3 this fall, but this rumor is getting my hopes up... again...
Seriously?
Time will tell. My iPad Air gets very little facetime, pardon the pun. I certainly won't be replacing it anytime soon. If I represent a trend it suggest iPad sales will continue to wane. OTOH, I may be an anomaly.
I wonder...
My workplace was full of people dying to buy iPads when they first came out. I didn't really see an application for one in my world, so I asked others what they intended to do with them. While a few had very specific intentions, most of them didn't seem to really know. I now wonder if many of them were already pretty much post-PC people, whose "computing" activities are primarily social, like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To them, the iPad probably looked like an improvement over both a laptop computer at one end and a smartphone at the other.
If that's all you do with an iPad, there's little incentive to upgrade. Combine that with the fact that phones are now larger and more powerful with better software options, and it's not hard to imagine that interest in tablets might wane somewhat.
He didn't say that the iPad market is mature - only that people will use them for a longer span than iPhones.
However, Apple is continuing to add new features to the iPad to fuel the sales and keep the product in the public's eye and mind. After all, the market is huge and there's a lot of manufacturers after every crumb they can get a hold to.
Exactly. Hell, I'm still making decent use out of my 2010 iPad. Sure some of the apps are slowing down a little they still work enough for me to wait a bit.
I know a bunch of people who are using the original iPad or, at least, iPad 2 who say they work great and will only upgrade when they can't run any of the apps they use. Same goes for the number of people I know that are using older iPhones with little to no issues.
Give it to Apple for making devices that last.
Apple has five products (The iPhone, iPad, iMac, laptop and Time Machine) that I try to keep reasonably current and have a hard time doing so. All except the iMac have undergone enough updates since I bought the last one to make me want to update (and I don't even have a Apple TV to think about updating). If a person buys into the Apple experience, it is a lot of products to keep from getting long in the tooth.
They all may be getting "tweaks" but some of the tweaks are important as they freeze a user on the older side of a OS upgrade or keep your mobile devices locked to an older wifi speed, or can't support the latest apps. Just the budget to refresh every-other upgrade has one considering an upgrade on 2-3 pieces of equipment per year.
Really puts into perspective the size of that Android “phone”.
Sorry bit I ain't buying a new freaking iPad every six months.
I think people have to the option to upgrade Apple devices far less often than the alternatives. This is because Apple hardware is high quality and lasts longer.
My previous MBP I had and used for 6 years. I reckon my brother upgraded his PC alternative each year at greeter cost overall and lesser user experience for sure.
I bet iPhone and iPad users also upgrade less often. My current iPhone is a 4s and my other half's is a 4! They both do exactly what we need them to do and don't "need" to upgrade. We will be upgrading both this year though because we "want" to. The 4s & 4 will be given to family members and this will grow the Apple user-base.
I bought an iPad Air a couple of months ago for my parents. If Apple bring out a bigger iPad Pro I'll likely replace it with one (hopefully it will have larger text for older folk). In addition I think another iPad for me will be in order so my current iPad3 can become just for my little lad to use.