iPad remains the world's most popular tablet by a significant margin, having outsold competing devices from rivals Samsung and Amazon combined last year, according to data shared by research firm IDC today.
Apple sold a total of 43.8 million iPad units in 2017, as confirmed by its quarterly earnings results, while IDC estimates that Samsung and Amazon shipped 24.9 million and 16.7 million tablets respectively on the year. The combined Samsung-Amazon total of 41.6 million tablets is 2.2 million lower than iPad sales.
Apple captured a 26.8 percent share of the tablet market in 2017, meaning that roughly one in every four tablets sold last year was an iPad. Apple's tablet market share rose 2.5 percentage points year-on-year.
Last week, Apple reported revenue of $5.8 billion from iPad sales in the fourth quarter of 2017, representing growth of six percent compared to the year-ago quarter. Apple's average selling price of an iPad was $445, up slightly from $423 in year-ago quarter, suggesting more higher-priced iPad Pro sales.
Apple's growth in iPad sales, albeit relatively flat, contrasted with the overall tablet market's 6.5 percent decline in shipments in 2017 compared to 2016. iPad has been the world's most popular tablet since shortly after it launched.
Shifting focus to this year, Apple is rumored to launch at least one new iPad Pro model with slimmer bezels, no home button, and Face ID. We haven't heard much about the lower-cost 9.7-inch iPad and iPad mini, but each could certainly receive a routine speed bump this year among other upgrades as well.
Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
"Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future.
To set up the...
Tuesday February 10, 2026 6:33 am PST by Joe Rossignol
It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more.
Apple is expected to release/update the following products...
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
That's because there was never any consistency in Android tablets. There were so many tablets with different Android versions, screen sizes, resolutions, performance levels. Who would be able to make a tablet app that could run on all the possible devices.
Sadly, there's pretty much zero tablet competition unless you count devices like the Surface Pro which is really a laptop in tablet form.
I wish that Google still made Nexus tablets. They were nice iPad alternatives. The 2nd generation Nexus 7 was my first tablet. It certainly had some advantages over an iPad, but the drawback was the lack of actual tablet apps. Everything was just a blown up phone app.
That's because there was never any consistency in Android tablets. There were so many tablets with different Android versions, screen sizes, resolutions, performance levels. Who would be able to make a tablet app that could run on all the possible devices.
People only look at it as a failure now because it's down quite a bit from it's peak and it looks low compared to iPhone. But when compared to any other company's product line, it's extremely successful. Most companies would kill to have a product like this.
There are three reasons why iPad doesn't sell as many units as iPhone: [LIST=1] * They last forever—people are less likely to break them because they don't carry them everywhere while walking around. They're also primarily used for consuming content when you just need a big screen, so most people don't need the latest, fastest version. An old iPad is useful longer than an old iPhone.
* It's much less of a fashion accessory compared to a phone. Nobody cares if you have the latest iPad, and even though I think it's dumb, there is status associated with having a nice phone because—again—you have it out all the time so people see it. * Phablets became popular. Most people can get by with their huge phone nowadays. People who are thrifty would rather buy a phablet than a phone and a tablet separately—even though I personally think that having separate devices is ideal.
