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.
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost.
The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month.
In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the fourth betas.
iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update.
With iOS 18.4, Apple is adding the Priority Notifications...
Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4.
For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3 and AAC (Advanced Audio Codec), which...
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing.
Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1.
Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
We're not getting new Siri Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.4 as expected, but the upcoming update does have quite a few new additions that will be worth upgrading for. We've rounded up the five best features to look forward to, and if you're not running the beta, you can expect to get access to these in early April.
Priority Notifications
If you have an iPhone or iPad that supports...
Apple will launch its long-rumored foldable iPhone next year with a ~$2,000 premium price tag attached, expects well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.
Gurman's comments on Apple's launch plans for its first foldable device appeared in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter. Earlier this month, the reporter said Apple's foldable iPhone could be arriving "as early as 2026,"...
Tuesday March 25, 2025 11:52 am PDT by Juli Clover
Leaker Jon Prosser today shared a mockup of what he says the Messages app will look like in iOS 19, demoing an interface with rounded, translucent bubble-shaped navigation buttons at the top and softer, rounder corners for the keyboard and word suggestions.
Jon Prosser's Messages app mockup
The return button, a button for going back to the Messages list, and the FaceTime button have a deeper...
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.
