iPad Sales Have Plummeted, but New Models Will Energize It (2024)

iPad sales have plummeted since this time last year. Probably not coincidentally, Apple released no new iPad models in 2023. But fear not, iPad fans—that's about to change.

Maybe it was the push to get the Vision Pro out the door, or perhaps it was the tricky transition to the M3 chip or trouble with the fancy new screens coming to the next iPad Pro (see below), but Apple seems to have put the entire iPad lineup on the back burner. And the tablet has started to show its age, from the lackluster screen in the iPad mini right up to, well, up to everything in the iPad Pro, which has hardly changed since 2018. But it looks like that's all going to be forgotten next month, with a Cambrian Explosion of new iPads.

"Given Apple's history and product release patterns, I don't believe Apple has abandoned the iPad in the same way it neglected the Mac lineup in the 2010s. Apple has a pattern of revitalizing its products with significant updates, and the iPad, a key player in their ecosystem, is no exception," software developer Muhammad Qasim told Lifewire via email.

Padding It Out

Apple announced its first-quarter earnings results last week, and the iPad was down 25% on the previous year's first quarter. Worse, this quarter was overall Apple's second best ever, making the iPad's dip seem even bigger. Given the complete lack of new iPads last year, this might not be a big surprise. This combines with the lack of any real reason to upgrade. iPads tend to last a long time, and people can keep using them happily for years. I use my iPad more than my Mac, and I'm still happily grinding away on the 2018 Pro model.

"The problem is that the iPad is usually a seasonal product that does well in the holiday quarter, and this year's holiday quarter was 25 percent lower. Ouch," says seasoned Apple journalist Jason Snell on his Six Colors blog.

Also, the iPad has always been on a bit of an odd release cycle. Unlike the iPhone, which arrives every fall without fail and usually with compelling enough new features to tempt the hardcore nerds to buy new every year, the iPad is less reliable. The Pro models turn up every 18 months, more or less, but you might just get a new CPU or slightly upgraded camera. And the iPad mini—the cutest of all iPads—might go several years between updates.

This year, though, according to Bloomberg's Apple Whisperer Mark Gurman, it looks like the whole lineup is getting a pretty significant makeover. And the most exciting of these will be the iPad Pro, which, as we have seen, is getting long in the tooth. In computer years, it's already down in Florida with an orange tan and nodding off behind the wheel of a golf cart.

Pro Plus

The iPad Pro is the stretch-goal of Apple's tablets. Right now, it doesn't have much to separate it from the next down the line, the iPad Air, but over the years, it was the first iPad with a larger size (12.9 inches), the first to work with the Apple Pencil, to get Pro-Motion (adaptable refresh rates for the screen), USB-C, etc.

At one time, when Mac was flagging, in the midst of the butterfly keyboard debacle, it seemed like Apple was positioning the iPad as the future of mobile computing. Then, the Mac got Apple Silicon, which gave it the responsiveness, low-power use, and silent, low-heat operation of the iPad.

So how can Apple revitalize the line? The first new feature is the screen, which may be the most important part of a tablet. It will be a mini OLED screen that promises more vibrant colors, better contrast, blacker blacks, and will use less power.

Then, it seems like Apple will also move the front-facing FaceTime and FaceID array to the long side for a better video-calling experience. We can also expect a new aluminum Magic Keyboard with a trackpad to make it feel more like a MacBook.

"For me, the ideal iPad should be a versatile device that handles both work and play effortlessly. The iPadOS would need a major update to handle multitasking more efficiently," says Qasim.

Other than that, we're not sure, but recent changes to the MacBook Pro make us hope for a more useful range of ports. Like other iPads, the iPad Pro only has one port (USB-C) for charging and hooking up accessories. It could do with at least one more USB-C port, maybe an SD card slot, and even a headphone jack. Imagine that.

Other iPads won't be left out. The iPad Air, for example, may get a larger model, so you don't have to pay Pro prices just for a larger screen. But it's the new iPad Pro that will set the path for the next few years of iPads, and as a huge iPad user, I can't wait.