Analysts predict that Apple’s new iPad, which has already sold over 3 million units, is shaping up to boost sales of the device by a whopping 156% year-over-year. The tablet is expected to become “measurably larger” that the entire PC market.
Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray, says that most analysts expected the Cupertino company to sell between 1 million and 2 million new iPads during the device’s launch weekend. But in fact, it far exceeded those targets, shifting instead 3 million units within its first three days.
Those numbers suggest Apple will sell around 12 million iPads during the current quarter, with a year-over-year growth of 156%. Furthermore, the device will become larger than the entire PC market, according to Munster’s note:
We believe the unprecedented ramp of the iPad over the past year is evidence that the tablet market will be measurably larger than the PC market.
While the iPad has been slowly losing some market share to rival tablet devices, it’s unlikely to be taken over by a competitor any time soon. In fact, Muster believes that the iPad will remain the top dog with a majority share of the tablet market for at least the next three years.
During 2012, Munster predicts Apple will sell 66 million iPads in total. That’s a staggering amount, but not when you compare it to the 176 million iPads Apple is expected to sell during 2015, according to Munster.
Mark Moskowitz, an analyst with JP Morgan, said the new iPad launch was “staggering,” and that we will see “break-out growth” following its huge launch weekend. But he also believes that iPad sales will be boosted even further by the rumored arrival of Microsoft Office:
Currently, the enterprise vertical represents less than 10% of tablet units, but once Office is available on the iPad, we think that enterprises will regard the tablet as a productivity device.
These are numbers that rival tablet vendors can only dream about. Like many Apple devices, the iPad is only going from strength to strength, and while others may try to compete, it seems unlikely they’ll have any real impact on the iPad’s market share.
Carry on laughing at those lines outside of Apple stores, Samsung.
[via AppleInsider]
