The iPad Pro might not be the answer to Apple’s prayers after all

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The iPad Pro might not be the answer to Apple's prayers after all. Photo: Cult of Mac

It’s no secret that iPad sales are stalling. After an incredible start, iPad sales have continued to decline, year over year. Tim Cook has characterized it as just a speed bump, a statistical aberration more to do with how fast the iPad grew than customers losing interest in the line, even as Cupertino otherwise readies a stylus-boasting 12.9-inch iPad Pro to help boost sales.

But will the iPad Pro be enough? Not according to reputable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who says we can expect iPad sales to decline by as much as 30% in 2015.

In a note to clients issued on Friday, Kuo said that he believed that iPad shipments will “struggle to top” 45 million units this year, which would result in a 30 percent year-over-year decline since 2014.

But could the iPad Pro save things? Don’t hold your breath. Kyo believes that the 12.9-inch iPad, while on schedule for launch later this year, will not “contribute meaningfully to shipments momentum.”

In fact, it looks like it’s about to get gruesome for the iPad. Kuo believes iPad shipments will decline 52.7 percent in Apple’s Q2, falling to just 10.1 million units. He expects another drop in sales in Q3, falling to between 7 million and 8 million units.

Woof. Those numbers are bad. And it’s not like Kuo is terrible at predicting Apple’s success: in the last quarter, he was closer than almost any other analyst in predicting how many iPhones Apple had sold. His prediction was 73 million; Apple actually sold 74.5 million. Chances are, he’s right.

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