What happened to the iPod product category? iPod sales were cannibalized first by the iPod touch and then iPhone slowly cannibalized sales of the iPod touch. Apple has never been afraid of cannibalising the sales of its existing products. Apple’s late CEO Steve Jobs famously said, “If you don’t cannibalize yourself, someone else will.”

Is iPad facing the same fate as of the iPod? Will the iPad soon not be a major source of revenue for Apple? To understand these aspects let’s get into the details.

From iPad Air to iPad Air 2 – Not a major product update

If we look at the current trend of iPad sales we see some interesting figures; in Q1 2014 Apple sold 26 million tablets compare that to Q1 2015 the company sold 21.4 million. In 2013 Apple launched the new iPad Air and in 2014 the company launched iPad Air 2. Apple sold more iPad Air’s than iPad Air 2 during their respective holiday quarters.

One of the most obvious reasons that explains the fall in sales figures for iPad Air 2 could be due to the new tablet not being a major update when compared to its predecessor. iPad Air was a radical redesign and added many enhancements however, the iPad Air 2 received a modest update with improvements being camera, barometer, new processor with motion co-processor, and Touch-ID. These updates were certainly not enough for users who already own an iPad Air to upgrade.

Was iPad just a fad? Before we jump onto any conclusions we need to delve further into the tablet category.

Different Upgrade Cycles

Unlike iPhones customers are not looking to upgrade their tablets every two-years. Our smartphones have to endure much more rigorous use each day compared to the tablets. So even if you still own an iPad that was introduced in 2012 it may still be working just fine. I have an iPad 2, Retina Display MacBook Pro and iPhone 5. Even though the second-gen iPad now lags in performance after iOS 8 update I still don’t see the need to upgrade. One possible reason could also be that after purchasing the latest MacBook Pro I have increasingly felt lesser need to work on my iPad.

Users’ tablet upgrade cycle will largely depend on what you use the tablet for. If it’s just for browsing, emails, and watching movies then you’re probably not going to upgrade every two years. If you’re into gaming and love to play games on your iPad then upgrading every two years makes sense as Apple upgrades the tablets with much more capable graphic chips and all AAA game titles are quickly updated to take advantage of new features.

Smartphones have also become an expression of showing off the latest gadget you bought as one obviously tends to use it more often no matter where you are. Tablets would probably never reach that level of attention. You don’t upgrade your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro every year just because a new model was made available.

If we look at iPhone’s upgrade cycle where the company introduces major improvements every two years and follows up with minor improvements the following year it still continues to outperform previous years sales figures. iPad category certainly won’t give the same results. There’s still a lot of scope for the tablet however, its adoption into new markets and industries is dependent on factors other than just faster processor and better camera.

More choice

Another reason attributing to the decline in sales could be the introduction of large screen iPhones. Users who would previously carry an iPad mini and an iPhone can now carry just an iPhone 6 Plus. Apple has been always accused of not offering much choice to its customers however, now its a different story.

There’s a 7.9 inch iPad mini, 9.7 inch iPad, 4 inch iPhone 5S, 4.7 inch iPhone 6, and 5.5 inch iPhone 6 Plus. So, even though iPad sales in particular may have been affected, it could potentially be getting converted into iPhone sales.

With the new range of choices now available to customers it may take a couple of years for the sales figures to stabilise and adjust as customers make their choice for their preferred device for various computing purposes.

Content

iPhone had a three years lead on the iPad. When the iPad was first introduced it was not until the iPad 2 that we started seeing a large number of companies creating apps for their employees. iPad’s growth depends a lot on the ecosystem of apps other than games and productivity category. As web developers, companies, educational institutions develop more and more content optimised for the tablet we will witness continuous rise in tablet sales. Apple made a great move to tackle this issue by partnering with IBM to create enterprise ready apps.

So, should Apple be worried about the state of the iPad? No!  Apple should not be worried about lower iPad sales as it leads in market share and competitors aren’t making much progress in differentiating their products from the iPad. Microsoft is offering desktop computer experience on a tablet however, it doesn’t appear to be working favourably for the company. So, clearly if someone needs a tablet they are still looking at Apple.

The tablet market exploded after the introduction of the iPad. Apple’s competitors are waiting on Apple to take the next leap so that they can copy it.

As long as Apple continues to make improvements and make more capable tablets each year, this category is here to stay.

Photos Credit: Ben Miller, Lap Fung Chan

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus according to Apple is the biggest update to the iPhone since the original. Both phones feature larger display with Retina HD technology, new processors, NFC chip, better camera sensors and barometer.

The new phones will go on sale for walk-in customers on September 19 and will be available at Apple retail stores, network partners and authorised resellers.

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said, “iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are better in every way, and we are thrilled customers love them as much as we do.” He further added, “Pre-orders for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus set a new record for Apple, and we can’t wait to get our best iPhones yet into the hands of customers starting this Friday.”

In addition to the United States, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus will also be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK this Friday.

To put the pre-order figures of iPhone 6 in perspective, iPhone 5 pre-orders topped two million in first 24 hours in 2012 and the first weekend sales crossed five million devices. Apple did not release pre-order figures for iPhone 5S, however it did reveal that the first weekend sales figures topped 9 million devices and included China too.

This year iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus just like iPhone 5 will arrive a bit late in China due to delayed regulatory approvals. So, iPhone 6 pre-orders at 4 million in just 24 hours is certainly a very impressive record for Apple.

With its bigger screen phones, Apple Pay and the upcoming Apple Watch, the company is all set to break previous records and gain a lot of lost ground from Samsung. On September 26 the new phones from Apple will go on sale in 20 additional countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.

What are your predictions about the first weekend sales for the new iPhones? Will Apple cross the 10 million mark this year? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) will announce its Q4 FY13 earnings on October 28 during a conference call at 2:00 p.m. PT. AAPL CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer will discuss the results during the live earnings call.

The company set an all new record this year with the iPhone sales. Apple Inc. sold 9 million devices (iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c) during the launch weekend. Even though Apple did not release individual sales figures many reports published online have suggested that iPhone 5s sales were greater than the iPhone 5c.

Apple witnessed high demand for the iPhone 5s and because of the low yield rates of the fingerprint sensor the shipping date for many customers was pushed to October. The company is still struggling to meet the demand as the online store still mentions shipping in October as opposed to within 24 hours for the iPhone 5c.

iOS 7 has been a huge success for Apple has more than 200 million devices were upgraded to the latest operating system during the first week. Even iTunes Radio saw massive adoption with over 11 million unique listeners. The launch of the new streaming music service could have resulted in boost for the iTunes Match service as with the subscription iTunes Radio goes ad free.

Apple will be questioned about the rumored Apple television set and iWatch and the company as usual is unlikely to provide any update related to future products.

The shares of AAPL have improved in the recent past however it hasn’t recovered to the all time high of $700. At the time of writing the shares are trading at $490.97 and the company’s market capital is valued at $445.8 billion.

The new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c have proved to be a huge success for Apple with more 9 million devices sold during the launch weekend. This is the highest sales for the opening weekend the company has ever recorded. Apple launched new two new iPhones this year with iPhone 5s boasting faster processor, new Touch ID and camera improvements while on the other hand iPhone 5c had the same internals as iPhone 5 but with an all-new look.

According to a new report published by Canaccord, iPhone 5s sales figures topped at all the major U.S. carriers. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 had taken the top spot on Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile for a while however, in September Apple took over as the top smartphone company in terms of sales.

When Apple unveiled the sales figures it did not breakdown the figures for different models. However, this new report sheds some light on the performance of iPhone 5c. The new $100 cheaper iPhone with plastic body performed well on AT&T and Sprint at second position and came third on Verizon and T-Mobile.

Some analysts believe that out of the 9 million iPhone sales in the launch countries iPhone 5s figures could be around 7 million and the remaining could be of the iPhone 5c. With such impressive figures Apple’s strategy to grab more market share could certainly be seen as huge win.

In a market where cheap Android phones outsell the iPhone, Apple has become aggressive by selling two new iPhones this year. Instead of selling iPhone 5 for $100 cheaper the company created an all-new design which would appeal to the young and ‘colorful’. Those who were hoping to buy iPhone 5 at a cheaper price would now have to shell out more money to buy the flagship iPhone.

The latest iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c from Apple went on sale in the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK on September 20th. Apple recently announced opening weekend sales figures of 9 million iPhones sold. However, the company did not give a breakdown for iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c separately.

Judging by the availability of iPhone 5s models at Apple stores and the slipping of shipping dates to October, it was easy to believe that iPhone 5s is clearly more popular. Now, a new report by Localytics gives us some more insight into how popular is the iPhone 5s vs. iPhone 5c. The analytics company examined 20 million unique iPhones and then analysed the breakdown by country.

The report reveals that China leads in terms of users’ preference for iPhone 5s over iPhone 5c. One of the results for the popularity could be the new gold color. Many analysts believe that in the Asian market gold color phone would be extremely popular.

One possible explanation: there was a lot of hoopla around the addition of the gold-colored iPhone 5s as a very attractive addition in particular for Asian markets so this hypothesis may hold true.

Except the UK all other major markets were reported to have a very high ratio of the 5s vs. the 5c. The reason behind this could be due to subsidies not playing a major role in buyers decision and the fact that the economy is still recovering.

Further, the report highlights that the United States accounts for 68% of all active iPhone 5s and 5c devices. In simple terms, these numbers clearly suggest that more users are opting to buy the all-new iPhone 5s than the iPhone 5c.

Apple’s iPhone 5s comes with improved camera, dual-tone LED flash, 64-bit chip A7 processor and Touch ID fingerprint sensor. This year the company added two new colors to the lineup, introducing space gray and gold. Even though iPhone 5c is available at $100 cheaper the launch weekend certainly suggests more interest in the faster flagship model than the more colorful 5c.

iPhone sales figures for the first weekend since the device went on sale on September 20th have been announced by Apple. This year the company set a new record high of 9 million sold units, these include both, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s models.

This isn’t the first time Apple has broken its own previous high. With every new release of iPhone the company successfully manages to set new sales record. iPhone 4S recorded four million sold units during the first weekend and iPhone 5 recorded 5 million units. Even though this years figures set an all time high, they can’t really be compared. This year Apple is selling two new models and added China to the list of countries where the phone would go on sale.

Apple’s press release does not break the iPhone sales figures for the two different models however, analysts believe that iPhone 5s demand was much greater than iPhone 5c. The company is struggling to meet the demand for iPhone 5s as the availability has moved to October for many customers.

Apple also announced that iTunes Radio has been very well received by users as the company recorded over 11 million unique listeners during the launch weekend. iOS 7 was released to general public on September 18th and Apple revealed that over 200 million devices are already running the latest software.

iPhone is the most profitable and revenue generating business for Apple and as the company continues to break previous records, its clear that users are voting with their money.

On Sunday, a report by research firm comScore revealed that Apple Inc. (AAPL) has officially surpassed LG to become the number two phone maker in the United States. According to the report, AAPL gained 1.5% in mobile subscribers from August 2012 to October 2012 to claim the second spot.

Samsung currently remains the number one phone maker in the United States with 26.3%, with Apple coming in second at 17.8%. LG isn’t too far behind, only .2% behind Apple at 17.6%, however, it did drop in percentage over the past several months alongside Motorola and HTC.

Apple poses a threat to Samsung which has fiercely been promoting its mobile phones to compete with the iPhone and gain new customers. In the past, Apple surpassed Motorola to claim the 3rd spot and now threatens to become the world’s leading phone maker. It is interesting to note that Apple only sells the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, and limited supplies of the iPhone 4 and has been competing with LG and Samsung which produce hundreds of different cell phones.

comScore tracks the installed base for a phone maker, as opposed to sales figures, which allows them to accurately determine how many users a phone maker currently has. With Apple jumping two spots in less than a year, it is only a matter of time before they lead as the number one phone maker in the US.

{Via MacRumors}

Apple Inc. (AAPL) recently updated its ‘investor relations’ webpage to announce that the company will conduct a conference to discuss  Q3 FY12 Earnings on July 24. The live conference call will be held at 2 PM Pacific / 5 PM Eastern time. The call will later be available for streaming via QuickTime through Apple’s website.

AAPL has been reporting record quarters each year with sales of iPhone on the rise and outstanding sales figures of its tablet computer. During last quarter Apple Inc. reported revenue of $39.2 billion and quarterly net profit of $11.6 billion. The company sold 35.1 million iPhones, 11.8 million iPads, 4 million Macs, and 7.7 million iPods in the quarter representing 88% growth for iPhone sales and 151 percent increase for the iPad.

Apple’s CFO, Peter Oppenheimer, during the end of the conference call added,  “Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter, we expect revenue of about $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $8.68.”

The third quarter revenue hasn’t seen introduction of any new hardware while on the other hand iPhone sales are expected to slow down as users anticipate the launch of next gen iPhone 5. However, the new iPad 3 has been added to a number of new countries and the Cupertino based company is expected to report impressive sales figures for its tablet computer.

Moving forward Apple is expected to see higher growth in its Mac hardware products as with the introduction of MacBook Pro with Retina Display the company has shown its commitment to remain aggressive in the notebook business. The availability of MacBook Pro with retina display on Apple’s online store moved up to 3-4 weeks shipping time shortly after its release suggesting fast adoption rate among users. Although, Apple hasn’t released any public sales figures for the next gen MacBook Pro.

Apple’s upcoming software releases for OS X and iOS are also worth mentioning as the OS of both the platforms continue to merge. Mountain Lion for OS X will be made available to users later this month exclusively from Mac App Store and iOS 6 is expected to be made available later this fall.

Apple is all set to unveil the iPad 3 at a keynote event on March 7th as the company has already sent out media invitations for the launch event. According to the photos of iPad 3 display parts which appeared on the web the third generation iPad will feature high resolution retina display.

Retina Display on iPad 3 will have a resolution of 2048×1536 pixels and now a new report published by DigiTimes suggests that Apple’s display suppliers have been slow in ramping up their production. If this turns out to be true then Apple could face shortages and be unable to meet the demand for its new iPad. This could further impact Apple’s plan for international roll out.

Apple may not unable to ramp up the supply of its next-generation iPads (iPad 3), which are expected to be launched at a company event on March 7, due to insufficient supply of high resolution displays, according to industry sources in the supply chain.

The report goes onto mention that Apple would only be able to ramp up the product assembly around the second quarter of 2012. The Cupertino, Calif. based company has been careful in selecting suppliers of QXGA display panels and replaced Chimei Innolux (CMI) with Sharp while Samsung Electronics and LG display continue to supply the high resolution panels.

the whole supply chain has failed to substantially ramp up the supply of QXGA panels, the sources revealed.

Apple has been faced with product shortages post release date of a new device as the demand has mostly surpassed the company’s projected sales figures. As the supply chain struggles to ramp up production shipping time of iPad 3 may be pushed to 4-5 weeks time frame.

iPad 3 keynote event will kick off at 10 am Pacific at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and we will bring you live all-in-one coverage of the event.

{via MacRumors}

Apple released the iPhone 4S in the US over a month ago and announced that they would be rolling out the fifth-gen iPhone to new countries as the weeks progressed. On Friday, it was confirmed that Apple is planning to release the iPhone 4S in Russia, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia on December 16th.

These countries are only three of the many who are part of Apple’s international roll out, although Apple has not publicly announced this with a press release. In South America, Brazilian carrier Claro has posted a promotional page [Google translation], revealing the December 16th release date.

A number of iPhone 4S and 4 models have shown up in Brazil and are being sold at high prices (Almost $2000 for a 16 GB iPhone 4S), ahead of an official launch on any specific carrier. Russian retailer Digital.ru [Google translation] also announced that it will be selling the iPhone 4S and is already accepting pre-orders. However, Brazil, Russia, and Saudi Arabia aren’t the only countries receiving the iPhone on the 16th, with reports suggesting that the December 16th launch date also includes Taiwan, the Philippines, South Africa, and Malaysia.

Apple has experienced massive sales of the iPhone 4S, in both the US and internationally. Lines for the 4S extended through the week of release on October 4th, into the next Wednesday in the US, proving that Apple is looking forward to extremely positive sales for the holidays.

{via MacRumors}

iPhone 4S didn’t introduce a larger screen or new design however, on the inside it packs in more power, 8 megapixel camera with advanced optics and all-new personal assistant called Siri.  We recently reported that AT&T and Sprint had already announced that iPhone 4S was off to a great start and Apple also confirmed that it managed to sell more than one million units in first 24 hours of the pre-orders.

It’s worth noting that the new iPhone 4S is available in just 7 countries as of today which include US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK. Apple will make the new phone available in 22 more countries on October 28 and is expected to add another 70 countries by the end of the year.

iPhone 4S will be available on October 28 in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, Philip Schiller, in a press release said, “iPhone 4S is off to a great start with more than four million sold in its first weekend—the most ever for a phone and more than double the iPhone 4 launch during its first three days,”.

In addition to announcing the sales figures for iPhone 4S Apple also confirmed that more than 25 million customers have already upgraded their iOS devices to run iOS 5. Apple’s new cloud services called iCloud is also witnessing a great start with over 20 million customers now using the new service.

{via Apple}

The figures, as reported by Seeking Alpha, seem to confirm that Apple will yet again beat industry expectations, and will have sold around 18 million iPhones, and 4.2 million iPads in their last financial quarter. Most analysts are predicting around 15 – 16 million units of iPhones.

The way that Seeking Alpha has arrived at these figures is by taking previous quarterly results and the total confirmed iPhone and iPad sales figures as of those filings, and then calculating the difference between those sales figures and more recent figures quoted by Apple in the lawsuit which include sales up to March of this year.

Those figures confirm 108 million iPhones sold in total, up to March of 2011, and almost 15 million iPads sold in total up to the same date. The difference between those figures and the last gross sales figures confirmed in Apple’s previous quarterly earnings reports gave them this, apparently advance information.

Apple is due to officially release its sales figures for this last quarter imminently. But this gives us a little early insight into just how well the tech giant is doing, yet again.

Are these figures correct? We should know in a few hours! Let us know your reaction in the comments…