Apple did amazing things in 2014, but when it comes to growth, the iPad wasn’t exactly a blockbuster success. In fact, they’ve been slumping. Although Cook views slowing iPad growth as a “speed bump,” iPad upgrades are inarguably closer to the upgrade rate of laptops than smartphones.
Cook’s optimistic. “Because we’ve only been in the market for four years, we don’t know how long the upgrade cycle will be for people,” Cook said during the October earnings call. “So that’s a difficult thing to call.”
So what does 2015 hold for the iPad? Sadly, it’s not clear.
According to new forecasts from market intelligent firm ABI Research, tablet growth is expected to continue over the next 5 years, reaching 290 million units by 2019.
But will these be iPads, Android tablets, or others? ABI just isn’t sure. They say that they think the iPad only shipped 68 million units in 20154, compared to 74 in 2013.
“The tablet outlook for 2015 paints a better picture for OEMs,” ABI says, noting that worldwide branded shipments will grow 16% year-over-year to 194 million.
Still, ABI thinks that Apple may reverse its iPad slump in 2015. Perhaps the rumored 12-inch iPad Pro could do just that?
Source: ABI
