Apple will ship 9.8 million iPads in the first quarter of 2016, potentially its lowest quarterly tablet sales since the iPad 2 in mid 2011, according to Taiwan-based DigiTimes Research. The research note claims Apple will account for 21% of global tablet shipments, trailed by Samsung Electronics with 14% market share.
If the sales prediction proves to be accurate, 9.8 million iPad sales would represent a 39.1 percent quarter-over-quarter decline and around 20 percent decline compared to the year-ago quarter, based on iPad sales of 16.12 million in the most recent quarter and 12.62 million in the first calendar quarter of 2015.
Apple has sold less than 10 million tablets in a single quarter six times, but only once since June 2011. That sole time was the recent September 2015 quarter, when iPad sales totaled an uncharacteristically low 9.88 million. The overall tablet market has faced the same decline, with total shipments dropping 10.1% in 2015 over 2014.
iPad sales have declined for eight consecutive quarters year-over-year, partially because consumers upgrade their tablets less frequently than smartphones. Apple also skipped over releasing the iPad Air 3 last October, when it typically refreshes the 9.7-inch tablet, instead focusing its efforts on the introduction of the larger iPad Pro.
Apple is instead expected to debut the iPad Air 3 at its rumored March 15 media event, which could help combat the decline alongside the iPad Pro and iPad mini 4. Most of those sales will fall in the second quarter of 2016, however, so Apple's new tablets are unlikely to have a significant impact on the current quarter.
Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued.
The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models.
In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring.
There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category.
M4...
Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by Juli Clover
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch.
All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
Friday February 21, 2025 1:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple finally released the first beta of iOS 18.4 to developers for testing purposes, and while the beta is lacking some of the Apple Intelligence features we were hoping for, there are some notable new additions.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Priority Notifications - Apple Intelligence
There is a new Priority Notifications feature that can show you your most...
Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag.
The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle.
Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Friday February 21, 2025 8:01 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple has confirmed that its custom-designed C1 modem in the iPhone 16e has nothing to do with the device's lack of MagSafe support, according to Macworld.
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, there was some speculation online about how MagSafe magnets might have interfered with the C1 modem's cellular connectivity performance, and this was considered to be a potential reason for the...
Apple today announced its first custom cellular modem with the name "C1," debuting in the all-new iPhone 16e.
The new modem contributes to the iPhone 16e's power efficiency, giving it the longest battery life of any iPhone with a 6.1-inch display, such as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16.
Expanding the benefits of Apple silicon, C1 is the first modem designed by Apple and the most...
Apple killed this device with such shortsighted and outdated price point and storage, no innovation in input method (Apple pen too little too late) and no expandability (a single lightning connector limits potential drastically), $500/16GB for 5 straight years, really?
Everyone has an iPad now, so there's less need to upgrade. I "might" consider getting a new one if they all had touch ID AND could use the pencil AND had force touch. Otherwise the one I have still does what I need it to.
iPad sales have declined for eight consecutive quarters year-over-year, partially because consumers upgrade their tablets less frequently than smartphones.
That is nothing but an easy excuse to explain away cratering sales. The reality is Apple has been derelict in giving consumers a compelling reason to upgrade their iPads. I am a serial iPad upgrader so I can say first hand their really isn't a whole lot of difference between the iPad 3, iPad 4, the Air, and the Air 2. Same goes with the Mini w/ Retina and the succeeding upgrades.
I realize TC keeps blathering on about how he believes the iPad line will be revived. But so far he has not shown a concrete product that will do this. I'm afraid the Air 3 is going to offer more of the same incremental iPhone leftover upgrades. If so, for the first time ever, I won't be getting a new 9.7" iPad.
I love my Air2, use it daily, travel w/ it often instead of my MBP. But I'm afraid TC and co. have abandoned the mini and Air for so long that the brand is just rotting on the vine. For media content device, consumers understand a $200 Android tablet works just as well as any iPad. If Apple wants to position the iPad as a post-PC device then the time is now or never. Otherwise its going to have the same fate as the iPod.
I would buy a new iPad, but Apple must find a way of convincing me. Telling me the new iPad is lighter than the last generation isn't going to make me shell out £500 for a new one.
