Have iPads seen their best days? While Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook this week said he doesn’t think so, consumers may be signaling otherwise.
Apple reported this week that it sold 12.6 million iPads in the first quarter, down 23 percent from 16.3 million in the same period a year ago. Chief rival Samsung is also seeing a decline in tablet sales.
Meanwhile, Apple sold 61 million iPhones, or 40 percent more than it sold in first quarter 2014. It didn’t hurt that Apple came out with its newest iPhones, the 6 and 6 Plus, last year and a new Apple Watch and MacBook upgrades in this year’s first quarter.
Globally, tablet shipments were up slightly for the year last year, but down in the fourth quarter, th first decline since 2010, according to industry researchers at International Data Corp.
Analysts say some potential iPad buyers are awaiting a newer version of the tablet, which may partly explain the drop-off in sales. Others, however, believe the iPad (and other tablets, not to mention personal computers) isn’t as useful as the new, larger-screen iPhones and more powerful yet lighter-weight MacBook, which saw sales rise 10 percent from the same period in 2014.
Cook acknowledged that the iPad may be loosing sales to Apple’s other devices, but he believes the tablet has a brighter future with big business, or enterprise customers. IDC also believe there will be greater demand for tablets in the commercial sector in years to come.
As for the new Apple Watch, which went on sale this month, Cook would only tell analysts “demand is greater than supply.”
What do you think? Are iPads and other tablets as useful as other devices? Take our poll and let us know which device you would buy if you had the dough: iPhone, iPad, MacBook or Apple Watch?
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