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iPad 2 Sales Drop Significantly as Holiday Shoppers Choose Pricier iPads

Monday January 20, 2014 12:12 pm PST by Jordan Golson
iPad 2 sales have dropped significantly following the introduction of new iPad and iPad mini models back in October, according to the latest research from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Both the mini and full-size iPad Air making significant percentage gains in Apple's iPad mix.

For the September quarter, the last quarter before the new iPads were released, CIRP said the iPad 2 accounted for some 22 percent of iPad sales. For the December quarter, the iPad 2 fell to only 5 percent of total iPad sales.

In the quarter, the iPad mini with Retina display remained supply constrained until at least mid-December -- the full size iPad accounted for 54 percent of sales, while the iPad mini accounted for 41 percent.

CIRP iPad Sales
"Apple managed to shift significant sales to its higher-priced models," said Mike Levin, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder. "For the past year, the legacy iPad 2 grabbed from one-quarter to one-third of iPad sales. Along with the trend toward sale of models with larger storage capacities, Apple should see higher iPad average selling prices, with iPad 2 at only 5% of total sales and iPad mini sales split between the original model and the new iPad mini with Retina display."
The new iPad Air -- which was in strong supply for the quarter -- accounted for 41 percent of total iPad sales, significantly outselling the fourth-generation full-size iPad. Sales of the non-retina iPad mini outstripped its retina-equipped brethren, likely because of supply issues. On the U.S. Apple Online Store, the iPad mini with Retina display only began shipping within 24 hours at the end of December.

iPad ASP
The shift of sales from the cheaper iPad 2 to the more expensive iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina is a good sign for Apple. The company has seen its iPad Average Selling Price consistently drop over the past three years.

[ 114 comments ]


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virginblue4
65 months ago

This is bad for the iPad 2. I think Apple may discontinue it this year.


Good, I hope they also discontinue the 1st generation iPad mini. Then we will only be left with retina iPads with a minimum of an A7 chip.

iPad 2 was and still is a great device, but I believe it is time to say goodbye.
Rating: 11 Votes
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AppleWarMachine
65 months ago
The price for the iPad 2 is way too high for a 3 year old product (they must have a few warehouses full) :D
Rating: 8 Votes
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zhenya
65 months ago

Who was still buying these things?

Did old people wise up or did stores stop pushing them as a reasonable option?


People who buy ipads in volume like this.


Or who have expensive POS systems or other industry-specific hardware that is not easy to adapt to Lightning, nor is there a compelling reason to.
Rating: 8 Votes
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dannyyankou
65 months ago
5% seems pretty high. Not sure why anyone would buy it.
Rating: 7 Votes
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zhenya
65 months ago
The iPad 2 was the last iPad on the market sold with a 30-pin connector which many businesses and institutions have a huge investment in. That is almost certainly why it has been kept afloat this long. These numbers are just a reflection of the fact that even those customers are realizing it's time to move on.
Rating: 7 Votes
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zhenya
65 months ago

no the iPad 3 was...


The iPad 3 was discontinued. The iPad 2 is still for sale new.
Rating: 6 Votes
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osx11
65 months ago

Buying a refurbished model does not work for me, I want the iPad to be new.




And that is the part where I can't understand why people would not get the iPad air. I can understand that the price can be tempting, I saw some iPads in my area going of $369 before tax and Target was giving a $60 gift card. But the A5 chip is how many generations behind?

I know a friend who bought a iPad 2 and an iPad mini all within the last 12 months, his wife also got an iPhone 4S....


Refurb gets you:

- a new outer shell
- a new battery
- a thoroughly checked iPad
- Standard one year warranty
- Option of getting Apple Care
- a less expensive iPad

So exactly why do you not want a refurbished iPad?
Rating: 6 Votes
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Nyy8
65 months ago
RIP iPad 2. You had a great run.
Rating: 4 Votes
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Rogifan
65 months ago
iPad 2 sales are declining? Apple is doomed. :D
Rating: 4 Votes
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jarred125
65 months ago

I don't know why anyone would want to buy the obsolete Ipad 2 or Ipad mini. For another $100 you get a more up to date model. The iPad 2 and mini also using internals that are three years old, what a waste to buy them.


I don't either. Apple already knows the iPad 2 is long in the tooth, they are just trying to milk it for as much cash as they can get out of it. Personally I think making it available at this price for yet another release is going to come back to bite them. People are going to be angry when the next update isn't available or most of the features aren't there, and that's totally unacceptable from the standpoint of a $400 device.
Rating: 4 Votes

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