apple ipad uptick
1 year ago
Published June 4, 2021 by

Why Apple is doubling down on the iPad

Apple tablet sales jumped 79% in first three months of 2021.

From Mark Gurman and Debby Wu's "Apple Working on iPad Pro with Wireless Charging, New iPad Mini" posted Friday on Bloomberg News:

The iPad became an increasingly key part of Apple’s portfolio over the past year as people looked for new ways to work, study and stay entertained at home during Covid-19 lockdowns. Sales of iPads jumped 43% during the last six months of 2020 compared with a year earlier. The gains continued in the first three months of 2021 when the tablets generated $7.8 billion -- a 79% increase from the same quarter a year earlier.

For the new Pro model, the switch to a glass back is being tested, in part, to enable wireless charging for the first time. Making the change in material would bring iPads closer to iPhones, which Apple has transitioned from aluminum to glass backs in recent years...

Apple last redesigned the iPad Pro in 2018 and its past two updates have focused on performance and camera technologies. The iPad mini was last updated in 2019 with support for the Apple Pencil and a faster chip. The entry-level iPad was refreshed with a faster processor last September.

My take: Nothing inspires updates like an uptick in sales.

3 Comments

  1. Fred Stein said:
    Once again, Apple gets it right. The competition doesn’t.

    Samsung offers foldable phones at $2K. Apple crushes with both iPhones and iPads, priced from $400 to $1,500.

    The rest of the tablet market remains fragmented with three competing platforms, Android, Chrome, and Windows.

    5
    June 4, 2021
  2. Jerry Doyle said:
    The future never looked brighter for Apple relative to continued increases in hardware sales. Covid-19 introduced a whole new generation to Apple devices & compelled an extension of sales to more Apple family members to obtain their own devices. Once where there was one iPad in the home for a family member there now are multiple iPads & these family members going forward will demand their respective devices continue, the same as owning their own iPhones. It reminds me of the ‘50’s when families own a single automobile. Then the family got two to meet their needs. Now, it is common to see family members all owning their respective cars. It will be the way with Apple devices. Every family member will feel the need to own an iPad, the same as with an iPhone. And to facilitate that fact, Apple is providing iPads all at the appropriate price points.

    5
    June 4, 2021
  3. John Konopka said:
    Hmmm. Wireless charging is not high on my list of things I want to see in an iPad. Just makes it heavier and thicker. The battery lasts all day anyway. What’s the difference if I plug in a power cord or plug in a wireless charger?

    I’d rather see a better surface to make using the Pencil feel more like writing on paper.

    I’d rather see the front facing camera moved to the long side of the iPad to make FaceTime better when using it in landscape orientation.

    I’d rather see an improved iPadOS to make multitasking and file access easier.

    2
    June 4, 2021

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