Analysis of the iPad: product more important for Apple than the Mac?

Until now, Apple's motto has been: first the iPhone, then nothing for a long time, then the Mac. In terms of sales, this is still the case: in the last Apple financial quarter from January to March, the iPhone achieved sales revenue of 46.8 billion US dollars, while the Mac achieved 7.9 billion. The iPad was in third place among the key hardware products with 6.4 billion dollars (wearables, home, and accessories together reached 7.5 billion). However, according to a study by the market research company Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), tablets are becoming increasingly important for Apple: right after the iPhone, more and more users are interested in the iPad.

Apple does not state unit figures

According to the latest CIRP quarterly survey of Apple users, iPad penetration is significantly higher than is generally known. As expected, the iPhone was the most common product in an “Apple household” in the USA, at 94 percent. But right behind it was the iPad with 78 percent. The Mac landed in third place with 36 percent. As the average price of tablets is lower than that of Macs, this also explains the difference in sales. Apple has not provided information on the number of units sold for years.

Also interesting: 74 percent of Apple customers had both an iPhone and an iPad, which is only 4 percent less than all iPad owners combined. iPhone, iPad and Mac, on the other hand, are only owned by 30 percent of the Apple customers surveyed. The result shows: Apple is really hitting a nerve with the iPad and still has a lot of room for improvement with the Mac, despite current sales highs.

iPadOS 26 significantly upgraded

Apple recently announced the successor to iPadOS 18. iPadOS 26 (new version numbering scheme) is coming in the fall and will deliver numerous new features. These include improved file management and, in particular, the ability to use regular windows on the tablet. Multitasking has also been improved, and regular background processes are finally possible.

Meanwhile, the iPad product range remains large and even confusing: in addition to the entry-level iPad with no other product name, there is still the iPad Air, the iPad Pro and the iPad Mini. Apple will also offer iPadOS 26 for many older models, although there may be restrictions.

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