Apple's iPad Shipments Could See 20% YoY Growth in 2020

Apple's global iPad shipments are likely to enjoy a 20% year-on-year growth in 2020, according to supply chain estimates.

ipad air arrive feature
According to DigiTimes, the impressive growth rate is much higher than a previous estimate of an 8% hike to 45.1 million units, and that is largely due to the impact of the global health crisis and the rate of people switching to remote working.

Supply chain makers have begun ramping up related shipments since September with the momentum likely to peak in November, said the sources, adding that combined monthly shipments of the new 10.9-inch iPad Air and 10.2-inch iPad devices during the September-November period will reach over six million units.

In response to the projected growth, Taiwan-based General Interface Solution (GIS), which is a major supplier of ‌iPad‌ touch panels, is expanding capacity at its Chinese plant, with an additional capacity of 500,000 units a month to become available in early 2021, according to DigiTimes' sources.

GIS has reported revenues of $420.11 million, up 13% sequentially, and 0.32% year-on-year. For January-September, revenues totaled $3.11 billion, up 4% year-on-year.

Apple announced the new iPad Air 4 at its September digital event and said the device would become available "in October," so there's a good chance that the company could announce pre-order and launch dates for the ‌iPad Air‌ at Tuesday's Apple event, in which the iPhone 12 lineup is expected to be unveiled. Well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman said that Apple marketing materials for the new ‌‌iPad‌‌ Air started landing at retail stores at the beginning of October, suggesting a launch sooner rather than later.

Apple's new ‌iPad Air‌ shares the same A14 processor as the ‌iPhone‌ 12. Apple had never debuted a new AXX-series chip in an ‌iPad‌ before, so it's possible that Apple didn't want the new tablet getting into the hands of the public before its latest flagship smartphone.

Apple reported during the announcement of the fourth-generation ‌‌iPad‌‌ Air that the A14 offers 40 percent faster performance and up to 30 percent faster graphics than the previous ‌‌iPad‌‌ Air with the A12 Bionic, while benchmarks supposedly for the ‌iPad Air‌ 4 reveal that the A14 offers significant performance improvements over the ‌iPhone‌ 11's A13 Bionic CPU.

Related Roundups: iPad, iPad Air , iPad Pro
Related Forum: iPad

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...
Future M5 Chip Devices

M5 Chip Rumored to Debut in These Five Apple Products Later This Year

Friday July 4, 2025 9:14 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation M5 chip is expected to debut in five new products later this year, including the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac. M5 chips will reportedly be manufactured with TSMC's latest third-generation 3nm process, which should result in slight performance and power efficiency improvements over M4 chips fabricated with its second-generation 3nm process. ...

Top Rated Comments

djcerla Avatar
62 months ago
“A big iPod Touch”.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Veinticinco Avatar
62 months ago
Well they missed a good 2 weeks of shipments not having the new Air ready.

Annoying they STILL don’t have even preorders active. “View pricing” every single effing day.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jony Ive and Co. Avatar
62 months ago

Apple had never debuted a new AXX-series chip in an iPad before
WRONG. A5 in iPad 2 came out MONTHS before it was used in iPhones
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)