Prognosticating sales of tech products can be a difficult and thankless job, particularly when the companies selling the products themselves don't announce sales figures. But that doesn't excuse inconsistencies, unrealistic projections, or a lack of critical thinking skills.
While differing on some key figures, global tablet industry statistics published on Thursday suggest that the Apple's iPad still has a firm lead as the most popular option, even if the company and the industry as a whole are losing sales.
Apple's iPhone and iPad trounced the competition this holiday, giving the company a 44 percent share of all device activations — more than twice that of rival Samsung, new research suggests.
Apple is expected see consistent sales of its high-end offerings in the third calendar quarter of 2016, while other companies like Samsung and Amazon will be greatly impacted by the flood of "white box" generic tablets from Chinese manufacturers.
The downward trend in iPad sales is expected to continue through the first quarter of this year, with at least one firm expecting Apple to ship just 9.8 million tablets in the period.
Consumers have apparently taken a liking to the iPad Pro following its November release, as new data suggests that Apple moved nearly half a million more of the jumbo tablets alone than Microsoft did of its entire Surface lineup.
While the Apple iPad held on to its position as the leading tablet brand worldwide during the June quarter, the gap with other tablet makers shrank — as did the market overall, according to IDC research data released on Wednesday.
Though annual tablet sales have largely plateaued and aren't expected to see reignited growth in the near future, devices like Apple's iPad will continue to grow in use in corporate environments, Forrester Research believes.
Riding a wave of record-breaking iPhone sales, Apple remained the market leader in enterprise mobile device activations for the first quarter of 2015, but competitors are slowly eating away at iPad's tablet share, according to Good Technology.
More than one out of every four tablets sold in the first quarter of 2015 bore an Apple logo, new data indicates, though the worldwide market for tablets and convertible devices continues to contract.
Though fewer corporations have indicated they are planning to deploy tablets in 2015, Apple's iOS is still the leading platform for corporations embracing the post-PC era, far ahead of smartphones and tablets running Android or Windows.
Year-over-year growth in the tablet market is projected to fall by more than 45 percentage points from its 2013 rate, new data released Tuesday suggests, as Apple is expected to book the first full-year shipment decline in the iPad's history.
The average selling price of tablets continues to drop, according to the latest research from IDC, as sales growth in the tablet market is reportedly being driven by low-end, low-cost devices, just as Apple has entered the sub-$250 market with the first-generation iPad mini.
The tablet market remains Apple's to lose, according to new data released Thursday, as the Cupertino company commanded almost 27 percent of tablet shipments in the second quarter of 2014 — nearly 10 percentage points more than rival Samsung, its closest competitor.
Though iPad sales have fallen two quarters in a row, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Tuesday he isn't concerned, and teased that his company is working on new innovations that, along with the newly announced IBM partnership, could help reinvigorate growth.
Worldwide sales of tablet computers declined by nearly 5 percent in the first quarter of 2014 — the first such fall since tracking began — but Apple's iPad maintained its dominant mobile PC position with nearly twice the market share of the closest competitor.
With more than 20 million combined Mac and iPad shipments, Apple handily retained its title as the world's largest PC vendor in the first quarter of 2014, the latest data from Canalys shows.
Though its total shipments fell year over year last quarter, Apple and its iPad still accounts for about a third of all tablets pushed to market last quarter, though research firm IDC has predicted overall tablet growth will be slow throughout 2014.
Despite a recent uptick in sales for Android-based tablets, Apple's iPad remains the most-used slate by an overwhelming margin, according to new data released Wednesday.
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Neil Hughes
Roger Fingas
AppleInsider Staff
Mike Wuerthele
Mikey Campbell
Sam Oliver
Shane Cole
