Apple iPad Pro outsold entire Surface line last quarter says IDC

by Mark Tyson on 2 February 2016, 13:01

Tags: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Surface, iPad

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We saw Apple's iPad sales continue to decline in its most recent set of results. However the recently introduced and rather large iPad Pro has apparently done comparatively well, according to a new market research report by IDC (via Apple Insider).

Despite only being released in November the Apple iPad Pro outsold the entire Microsoft Surface line in the three month period ending 31st December 2015 according to IDC. Jitesh Ubrani, Senior Research Analyst with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers said "Despite lukewarm reviews, the iPad Pro was the clear winner this season as it was the top selling detachable, surpassing notable entries from Microsoft and other PC vendors." Ubrani noted that Google Android detachable tablet challengers would require "a lot more refinement" in order to compete with Apple and Microsoft.

Apple sold 2 million iPad Pro devices, Microsoft Surface sales added up to 1.6 million

Drilling down on the numbers Jean Philippe Bouchard, Research Director, Tablets at IDC, compared the iPad Pro and Surface line sales directly (though these numbers aren't published in the summary tables in the report). Bouchard said that "Apple sold just over two million iPad Pros while Microsoft sold around 1.6 million Surface devices, a majority of which were Surface Pro and not the more affordable Surface 3." From these statistics he concluded that "it's clear that price is not the most important feature considered when acquiring a detachable – performance is." It isn't absolutely clear, but he appears to be talking about the 'competition' among Surface tablets there, rather than Surface vs iPad Pro.

It looks like the iPad Pro has helped Apple maintain its grasp of the faltering tablet market. In the market overall, in Q4 2015, Apple iPads accounted for very nearly a quarter of all sales (16.1 million). Second placed Samsung sold 9 million tablets and third placed Amazon 5.2 million. Lenovo, with a significant proportion of Windows tablets in its roster, was fourth placed and shipped 3.2 million devices.

The detachable market is a very important segment of the tablets market as it represents a growth niche.



HEXUS Forums :: 19 Comments

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Hmm, I've been reading that a lot of folks (?) were holding off on buying a Surface because they were waiting to see what the ‘4 would bring.

If IDC are saying that performance is more importance to the buying decision than price then I’ve got to assume that these iPad Pro's are being bought by companies and those with particular iOS applications (in house?) in mind.

Interesting also to see that a lot of “convertables” (laptops with detachable keyboards) are being pushed as “tablets” - presumably to climb on the bandwagon.

As to the Android devices, it seems to be a pretty mixed bag to me, certainly I've heard lots of complaints that external keyboard support is a bit hit and miss. My old Asus TF101 was pretty solid in this regard, and I was very pleasantly surprised to see how usable my Lenovo Yoga2 (Android Lollipop) was “out of the box” with a Logitech K400+ - just plugged in the Unifying receiver and was able to use keyboard and trackpad as if it was a laptop. Makes me think that perhaps Microsoft are onto something with the push for Office on Android and iOS.
I think it's showing that the Surface 3, that is the non pro, isn't popular.

The 4 pro is out of stock in the good configs in the few retailers that carry it. They haven't made half the push that the iPad has and it's frankly unlikely to be an xmas gift in the same way, due to the large cost.

The other thing is the 4 pro was launched in the previous quarter too, so it's clear they can't make the supply for the demand.
TheAnimus
I think it's showing that the Surface 3, that is the non pro, isn't popular.
I'd argue it's more a case of being severely overpriced. When you compare it to say a hp pavillion x2 or asus t100 range which are £200-250 for what is in all intense purposes the same spec it would cost twice the price when you add in the cost of the keyboard that the others include. Yes it has stylus support and a metal chassis but it won't perform any better than the devices that cost half the price. At it's list price it competes with better spec'd products from the likes of HP and Asus.

Then there's the small gap to the low end surface pro which is better in all regards and includes the stylus.

As to iPad selling more than MS…. lets see I've seen no end of ‘pro apple’ articles on the web at the moment due to their lower than expected accounts, I've seen adverts for the iPad Pro and arguably in places that sell it they put more emphasis in selling it. Perfect example is PC world, MS Surface stuck in corner, Apple products front and centre taking up almost as much space as their ENTIRE windows range, even with most of them being the same item in different colours when windows items get a little label saying it's available in this colour too.

I haven't seen any MS adverts of late (stupid move from them in my opinion) but they also don't get the same ‘free advertising’ that Apple gets, which I'm sure if they did they'd be selling as much if not more products.

It could also be stock issues like mentioned because maybe they don't want the same write off they had with the surface pro 1…
Apple has a good reputation but has made mistakes.
MS is like a semi reformed rapist who forced you to have sex in their dungeon for 20 years but is now trying to regain your trust while still occasionally slipping you a length.
abaxas
Apple has a good reputation but has made mistakes.
MS is like a semi reformed rapist who forced you to have sex in their dungeon for 20 years but is now trying to regain your trust while still occasionally slipping you a length.

You do have a way with words…. :)