Popularity of Tablets

Tablets started to gain popularity ever since the original iPad was released in 2010, and became a common household item today.  But look back to a year ago. Tablet sales hit an all time low. There was still growth, but no where near where it was previously. What happened?  Why the harsh change?  If we look to smartphone sales in 2014, you might expect the same trend, that the growth would also start to slow down. Possibly the demand had just gone down for consumer electronics.  Even though Samsung's sales went down, Apple and other companies did grow.  So what is happening to tablets?

If we take a look at the tablet market, Apple held, and still hold the number one position in the sale of tablets, but sales dropped about 12% in 2014.  Why is the iPad, the most popular tablet, not selling as well now? If we take a look at the first iPad, released in 2010, the starting price of a 32GB iPad Gen 1 was $599, but the iPad Air 2 64GB was only $500. Price apparently hasn't played a part in less sales, as iPads are getting cheapers. An idea behind this drop might be people simply don't need a new iPad.  With a new iPad being announced basicly yearly, people are still just find with their tablet, or don't want to spend so much after just buying a tablet a year ago. Some people might be willing to upgrade their smartphones on a yearly basis, or their plan will upgrade them, it isn't the case for tablets.  Though the prices may be slowly dropping, $500 is still a large figure, and most tablets don't come on a contract. Tablets usually have a useful life of 2-5 years, while a smartphone has a typical useful life of 1-4 years.

Apple tablet sales could drop even more due to the target group. Previous Apple tablets have appealed to mostly everyone, but that possibly might not be the case in the future. With Apple's newly announced iPad Pro, many have speculated that it's large size and expensive price tag will deter the common consumer electronic users.  The new iPad Pro is 12.9 inches, compared to the iPad Air 2 size of 9.7.  Not everyone wants or are able to lug around a larger tablet.  Also, the official Apple keyboard case that will be released for the iPad Pro will costs $169, and their official stylist, the Apple Pencil, will cost $99. With a 32GB iPad Pro costing $799, the full line of Apple accessories and iPad Pro will cost you around $1070. With that kind of money you would be better off just buying a computer and saving some.  The iPad Pro just doesn't sell to everyone like their previous tablets have.



467