Tablet Sales - Boom and Bust ?

alanwarwicalanwarwic Posts: 28,396
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http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/18/technology/mobile/apple-ipad/
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/07/22/apple-q3-2014-results/


Despite the new Air and a Retina Mini sales fell again, though less than last years bigger 16% YOY fall in the same quarter.
The fall would likely have been bigger but for a China 50% over month2 increase in iPad sales.

With other brand tablets likely faring worse, is this the end of our love affair with tablets? (I typed this on a laptop)

Comments

  • D_Mcd4D_Mcd4 Posts: 10,438
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    Maybe a lot of people are very happy with the tablet they have and do not feel the need to rush out and buy the latest model. Phones are different as we are on a contract and like a new phone every time we sign up for a new contract.
  • alan1302alan1302 Posts: 6,336
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    alanwarwic wrote: »
    (I typed this on a laptop)

    thanks for letting us know :D
  • paulbrockpaulbrock Posts: 16,632
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    alanwarwic wrote: »

    With other brand tablets likely faring worse, is this the end of our love affair with tablets? (I typed this on a laptop)

    I thought the iPad downward trend was an exception in the tablet market....other brands are seeing growth
  • SambdaSambda Posts: 6,185
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    I wouldn't be surprised if tablets running piss-poor OSs like Android die out. I've used a couple of such things and the experience was very poor. After all, you can get tablets with proper Windows on them (e.g. Surface Pro) and I can't see people wanting Android if a far better experience is available (Windows also mean people can set things up much more similarly to the desktop/laptops they have indoors with Windows e.g. same email client).

    Don't know about Mac tablets as have only used them intermittently, but in the long term I think people are going to want tablets to be more of a cutdown laptop than a glorified phone.
  • victorslotvictorslot Posts: 619
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    As with any technology there comes a time when growth will slow as people buy the product. iPads are slightly different because of their market position, i.e. they are on the expensive side and although lots of people would like one not all are able or prepared to pay the price. So now with so many cheap Android tablets on the market those people will buy them as they are more affordable. This will mean the iPad sales will level out and Androids will rise, simple market reality which applies to virtually all consumer products.

    Not everyone has a phone on a contract. I don't have my phone on a contract so buy which ever model I want and a monthly sim to suit my needs which means if the coverage is rubbish I can change the sim whenever I want.

    I typed this on my iPad which is used for 95% of my computing needs!!
  • niceguy1966niceguy1966 Posts: 29,560
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    I had a Surface RT, which I've given to my parents as I never used it. The functionality gap between a smartphone and laptop is so small, I don't need a third device to fill it.

    I only gave it to my parents because they asked me which tablet to buy, and I thought I'd help them avoid wasting their money. I'm guessing they'll return it when the novelty wears off.
  • kidspudkidspud Posts: 18,341
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    D_Mcd4 wrote: »
    Maybe a lot of people are very happy with the tablet they have and do not feel the need to rush out and buy the latest model. Phones are different as we are on a contract and like a new phone every time we sign up for a new contract.

    I would agree with that.

    We have an iPad 1 and kept using that until last Xmas when we replaced it with an iPad Air, however, it was still a very good device.

    I have an iPad mini, and have no need to upgrade it at this moment in time and because it is also getting iOS 8, it will last a good while longer.
  • IvanIVIvanIV Posts: 30,301
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    I have Surface 2 and Dell Venue Pro 8 and I'm not tempted to upgrade anytime soon. It's not like with the phones which I keep upgrading every 1-2 years.
  • alanwarwicalanwarwic Posts: 28,396
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    Sambda wrote: »
    I wouldn't be surprised if tablets running piss-poor OSs like Android die out...
    It is a full OS system.

    The odd ones out are RT and IOS, though RT is also mouse and USB friendly like Android.
    If they all transition to having keyboards to keep selling I'm 99% sure IOS will one day get mouse support.
  • JackKlugmanJackKlugman Posts: 5,362
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    The tablet market has seen some major growth but is being slowed down for many reasons

    1) Those people who wanted them already have one. We are seeing the exact same thing with the iPod, unless they break then why bother upgrading. My iPad 2 has lasted me three years and I have reciently given it to my 2 year old to watch educational videos
    2) They dont see a point to upgrading once a year when Apple in particular makes very small device upgrades. The last major upgrade was from the iPad 2 to 3
    3) Apart from playing games and going on the web you cant really do that much with them. They are designed to consume content not produce it
    4) Apple are very expensive. £400 for a 16GB iPad is too expensive expecially when 16GB is a pathetically small amount of storage.
    5) Samsung I think have released 11 tablets this year confusing the average consumer. I am confused by Apple's iPad iteritations. Why they could not call them the iPad 3, 4 etc is beyond me. This year we will probably see iPad Air Retnia display mini plus of something equally stupid
  • bluebladeblueblade Posts: 88,859
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    alanwarwic wrote: »
    http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/18/technology/mobile/apple-ipad/
    http://www.macrumors.com/2014/07/22/apple-q3-2014-results/


    Despite the new Air and a Retina Mini sales fell again, though less than last years bigger 16% YOY fall in the same quarter.
    The fall would likely have been bigger but for a China 50% over month2 increase in iPad sales.

    With other brand tablets likely faring worse, is this the end of our love affair with tablets? (I typed this on a laptop)

    You don't need to replace a tablet every few months, so maybe those who already have a perfectly good tablet, don't feel the need to replace it.

    I'm wondering how the much vaunted Nexus 8 will fare, in view of the popularity of the nexus 7.

    The 7" model is very popular right now:-
    The "mini" category of tablets that includes the iPad Mini, Amazon (AMZN) Kindle Fire and Google (GOOG) Nexus 7 is primed for skyrocketing growth, analysts believe.
    "The seven-inch is absolutely dominant right now, and we expect it to stay that way for some time," said IHS iSuppli tablet market analyst Rhoda Alexander.

    ^^^^

    That was last October, mind.
  • packerbullypackerbully Posts: 2,812
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    D_Mcd4 wrote: »
    Maybe a lot of people are very happy with the tablet they have and do not feel the need to rush out and buy the latest model. Phones are different as we are on a contract and like a new phone every time we sign up for a new contract.

    Exactly - the Ipads are a great piece of kit and we have an Ipad 2 (wife) and 3 (me). We will not be upgrading until they die. My boss has just changed his ipad 1 to an Ipad Air.
  • LostFoolLostFool Posts: 90,623
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    5) Samsung I think have released 11 tablets this year confusing the average consumer. I am confused by Apple's iPad iteritations. Why they could not call them the iPad 3, 4 etc is beyond me. This year we will probably see iPad Air Retnia display mini plus of something equally stupid

    I'm not an average customer, but I get very confused by the Samsung tablet lineup as there as far too many variants of Tab, Tab Pro and Note.
  • StigStig Posts: 12,446
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    LostFool wrote: »
    I'm not an average customer, but I get very confused by the Samsung tablet lineup as there as far too many variants of Tab, Tab Pro and Note.

    It's long been Samsung policy to have a product in every niche market.
  • Rodney McKayRodney McKay Posts: 8,143
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    How often do people replace their computer? Far less often than they replace their phone.
    Tablets are bought on a non contract basis so people will only upgrade when the existing tablet breaks or is so slow it's not doing the job.

    I'd suggest a tablet has a life of up to 5 years before it's no longer useful.
  • alanwarwicalanwarwic Posts: 28,396
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    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/31/tablet_gloom_can_save_microsoft_from_itself/

    "Apple’s figures show a year-on-year decline in iPad sales"
    "We also appear to have reached “peak Kindle”, at least for now, with falls showing a 47.1 per cent decline in first quarter. "
    "What growth there is to come in tablets – as we suggested last week - will belong to no-name commodity manufacturers running bog-standard Android."

    I think the Kindle fall was bigger in that it has no China growth to lessen sales falls.
  • psionicpsionic Posts: 20,188
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    alanwarwic wrote: »
    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/31/tablet_gloom_can_save_microsoft_from_itself/

    "Apple’s figures show a year-on-year decline in iPad sales"
    "We also appear to have reached “peak Kindle”, at least for now, with falls showing a 47.1 per cent decline in first quarter. "
    "What growth there is to come in tablets – as we suggested last week - will belong to no-name commodity manufacturers running bog-standard Android."

    I think the Kindle fall was bigger in that it has no China growth to lessen sales falls.

    It's quite misleading. Sales are flat not declining. The only thing declining is the rate of growth. The tablet market is well and truly saturated now and won't see the growth they had before. Also many people apparently don't feel the need to upgrade them every year or two to the same degree as they often do with smartphones.
  • alanwarwicalanwarwic Posts: 28,396
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    psionic wrote: »
    It's quite misleading. Sales are flat not declining...
    http://www.businessinsider.com/apples-ipad-sales-weaker-than-expected-2013-7
    Add that from last year and we get towards a 25% YOY decline, at least in this quarter.
    Even an aggregated 'flat' with tablet sales reckoned to have gone up 100% the iPad is struggling to stand still.

    Anyway, like I predicted years ago, Apple held back on phablets so that they can fill the void when needed.
    That time is likely now, well October is they get that Alpha like IOS 8 Beta fixed.
  • noise747noise747 Posts: 30,692
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    Sambda wrote: »
    I wouldn't be surprised if tablets running piss-poor OSs like Android die out. I've used a couple of such things and the experience was very poor. After all, you can get tablets with proper Windows on them (e.g. Surface Pro) and I can't see people wanting Android if a far better experience is available (Windows also mean people can set things up much more similarly to the desktop/laptops they have indoors with Windows e.g. same email client).

    Don't know about Mac tablets as have only used them intermittently, but in the long term I think people are going to want tablets to be more of a cutdown laptop than a glorified phone.

    Android is ok. Windows is not really booming into the Tablet market is it? Most of the windows tablets around uses a limited version anyway, with a desktop that is not much use.

    You can get all on machines now based on Android, not sure if it would be for me, but some people likes them other wise they would not sell. i know someone who was looking at one, but after a chinwag, with me he changed his mind and went for a all in one windows based machine instead. Better for his family.

    But as a tablet OS Android is ok and for phones as well, it seems stable, fast and easy to use. My main problem with Android is Google and that they like to know everything about the user.

    No such thing as Mac tablets, the Os is different to a Mac, even if Apple do seem determined to put Tablet IOS features on the Mac OS.

    you put full blown windows on a tablet and then you need better batteries and more processor power with more memory, so the tablet have to be larger, just like the Surface pro, and then you get into the glorified laptop market to be honest.

    The pro is a nice machine, don't get me wrong, but a tablet it is not.

    As for tablet sales, I think they will slow down as people find the ones that have does the job or they decide that maybe that desktop or laptop does a better job after all.
  • alanwarwicalanwarwic Posts: 28,396
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    noise747 wrote: »
    ...My main problem with Android is Google and that they like to know everything about the user.
    No such thing as Mac tablets, the Os is different to a Mac, even if Apple do seem determined to put Tablet IOS features on the Mac OS.
    ..
    You can simply turn off the Google stuff. I only use the GPS for location in apps, not for Google. And Apple also owns the web engine in IOS, you don't get real choice. I use Google search because it works, end even that part of the free deal, the adverts are pertinent.

    Apple also tracks far more, if not the same in that they massively use crowd sourcing even expanding it to bluetooth now.
    I've always always thought Apple denying you the right to use GPS in Airplane Mode was much them tracking you, though I do admit their GPS was once not very good unless supplemented by Network Info.

    And believe it or not, Apple have even US patented GPS navigation via crowd sourcing for traffic info.
  • jonner101jonner101 Posts: 3,410
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    I have a feeling my iPad retina mini will last longer than any laptop I've owned as it's protected in a case and there are literally no moving parts apart from the volume, home and wake buttons which are very solid. There is also no way of dust getting in like a laptop which has to have vents and a cooling fan.

    All the software on the app store works smoothly and it's hard to see how the screen resolution could be improved such that you could tell the difference.

    Like many here say there is just no need to upgrade until the device dies.
  • StigStig Posts: 12,446
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    jonner101 wrote: »
    I have a feeling my iPad retina mini will last longer than any laptop I've owned as it's protected in a case and there are literally no moving parts apart from the volume, home and wake buttons which are very solid. There is also no way of dust getting in like a laptop which has to have vents and a cooling fan.

    All the software on the app store works smoothly and it's hard to see how the screen resolution could be improved such that you could tell the difference.

    Like many here say there is just no need to upgrade until the device dies.
    I've had 4 iPads now, and I love them.

    However, that sealed battery will gradually stop holding a charge.
  • alanwarwicalanwarwic Posts: 28,396
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    I'd imagine Apple undervolt the batteries more on the tablets thus doubling or tripling battery life when compared to iPhones. Its also how they get 1000 charges on their laptops.

    I's say its failed buttons and cracked screen where failures will be.
    Talking of failure, the only laptop or PC I have ever had fail was a works supplied laptop.
    Even the hard drives have all been rock solid.

    My 7 or so years old Acer has a cracked hinge(still no problem) but that is because I closed it onto something.
    And I'd also say I have dropped each of my 3 laptops at least once.
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