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Apple Continues to Sell the iPad 2 Because Customers Are Still Buying It

Thursday October 24, 2013 12:38 pm PDT by Jordan Golson
Some observers may have wondered why Apple would continue to sell the iPad 2 for $399 after announcing the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini on Tuesday. The answer, according to new research from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, is because customers are still buying the two-year old tablet.

The iPad 2 accounted for some 22 percent of iPad sales in the September quarter, down significantly from prior quarters, but it appears there is still more than enough demand for a cheaper, full-size iPad, particularly for the education sector.

CIRP iPad Sales
"Despite this quarter including back-to-school sales, the iPad 2, which accounted for a third of sales for the prior six months, seems to have started to show some age, after several strong quarters," said Josh Lowitz, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP. "Yet, the iPad Mini continued its relative share in the past few quarters, as customers seem to continue to like it as a low-price tablet alternative."
The full-size iPad 4 remained the most popular iPad in the quarter, accounting for nearly half of total sales in the U.S., while CIRP says the iPad mini tallied about a third of sales.

Apple's new iPad lineup sees the older iPad mini starting at $299, the new Retina iPad mini and the full-size iPad 2 available for $399, and the new iPad air beginning at $499.

[ 166 comments ]


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Sky Blue
76 months ago
Wouldn't people buy the iPad 4 at $399 too, though?

I guess profit margins are better on the 2!
Rating: 18 Votes
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bretm
76 months ago

why would they still buy it with the iPad 3 and 4 on the market ?:confused::confused:


It's cheaper.

Simply put, they now have a lineup of 2 full size pads, and 2 mini pads. Each with a retina and non retina version. Pretty simple.
Rating: 16 Votes
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taptic
76 months ago
In other news: Some customers don't know the definition of refurbished.

Rating: 16 Votes
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YeahBuddy
76 months ago
No body should be paying $400 for a two and a half year old tablet. Especially when at the same price you could purchase a newly released Retina iPad Mini.
Rating: 12 Votes
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bretm
76 months ago

That graph shows the iPad 4 selling quit well. This doesn't explain why they EOL'd it.


It's been replaced by the iPad air. Why is that confusing? They can't make it for any cheaper because it's a retina. Maybe a little, so why would you have the iPad 4 be just barely cheaper than the air, and possibly undermining air sales?
Rating: 10 Votes
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gordonprice67
76 months ago

why would they still buy it with the iPad 3 and 4 on the market ?:confused::confused:

An iPad2 or original iPad Mini are ideal for POS systems. I can see Apple still selling them with the low res screens and minor CPU bumps for $200 two years from now, bundled with the Square POS system.

As an interesting side anecdote, something like 90% of the small coffee shops, cafes and local stores I go to are using Square. Not to mention farmers markets, food carts, massage therapists with folding tables, dog walkers, baby sitters, etc.
One cafe I know was spending $1000 a month for a regular POS system that didn't provide ANY metrics for that price, JUST sales processing. They switched to Square on an iPad, ran two months of metrics and proved that sales after 5:00 PM where so low that it was costing them money to be open. Switching to an iPad POS system probably put $10,000 in their pocket in a year. The iPad has been a fundamental business enabler in subtle but powerful ways. Which have nothing to do with retina displays and fast graphics and the like.
Rating: 10 Votes
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bretm
76 months ago

No body should be paying $400 for a two and a half year old tablet. Especially when at the same price you could purchase a newly released Retina iPad Mini.


It's bigger than the mini. Some people don't see as well as you. They need stuff bigger. And the retina doesn't do much good if you don't see so well. :P
Rating: 9 Votes
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KeepCalmPeople
76 months ago
They're all clearly mad...
Rating: 9 Votes
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Xenomorph
76 months ago
The iPad 2 is a great tablet, and it matches the specs of many of Apple's other devices:

A5 / 512 MB:

iPhone 4S
iPod touch (5th generation)
iPad mini (1st generation)
iPad 2
Rating: 7 Votes
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TroyBoy30
76 months ago

why would they still buy it with the iPad 3 and 4 on the market ?:confused::confused:


I buy a ton for the company I work for. We don't need retina and the mini is too small
Rating: 7 Votes

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