Is the iPad’s Popularity Declining?

The answer to that question is a quick NO.

One only has to look at the latest figures with Forrester Research suggesting that Apple will sell more than $39 billion in Macs and iPads in 2014. What’s even more interesting about the given figures though is that breaking it down between Mac and iPad sales reveals that iPad is (and will be) outstripping Mac sales by about $4 billion in 2013 and by $5 billion come 2014.

This comes as no surprise, given the warm welcome the new iPad and the iPad Mini got when it was launched last year. As usual, lines were long were during the launch in Apple Stores around the world with the iPad and iPad Mini going out of stock in a matter of days, if not within the day itself as was the case in some places. Pre-orders were also sky high with the tablets’ sales limited not by the demand, but mostly due to the supply backlog. Of course, the holiday season with the surge in demand it always brings added to increase in sales.

Concerns over the iPad Mini cannibalizing the a portion of the full-sized iPad version are also proving to be empty with a good portion (47%) of iPad Mini buyers being first time Apple product users. This means that these users did not opt to replace their old iPads with the Mini. However, with the way people have been embracing the Mini, this may not be true in the long run.

While this is good news for Apple with their product placements neatly in place, it makes the iPad an even bigger threat to other tablet brands in the market. This is especially true for the multi-purpose 7.9-inch eBook readers/tablet, Kindle and Nook, with the iPad Mini obviously disrupting their niche. In fact, the latest statistics from Morgan Stanley Research for shipment share are already showing a marked decrease in users’ intention to purchase Amazon’s Kindle Fire (-5%) and other tablet brands (-19%), which is where the Nook falls under. The only tablets that are proving iPad-resistant are Google Nexus (up 6%), Microsoft Surface (up 12%), and Samsung Tablet (up 7%). The iPad, on the other hand, will retain its 50% shipment share.

So whichever way we look at it, it is obvious that the iPad’s popularity is in no way declining and that it will continue to dominate the tablet market until something new and better comes along.

[Images via jailbreakstation & appleinsider]