Apple CEO Tim Cook: Drop in iPad Sales Just a 'Speed Bump'

[redscull]

Unless Apple is offering some drastic improvements in iOS, most customers would still use the iPad for content consumption - and not creation. And for that there is simply no need to upgrade every year.

Why would this even make a difference? Most computer users do not in fact create content. Go back to the pre-tablet era and you find tons of "normal" people who have desktop computers for simple things like email and web browsing. Their systems were capable of far more, but they didn't need any if that. They also didn't upgrade more than every few years, if even that. Look at the surge in new PCs recently because of all those ancient XP machines being rendered unsupported.

These people were/are perfectly served by tablets; tablets which focus on media consumption and make it super simple and fast. The lack of content creation proficiency is what makes tablets so great. They do a job really well that a lot of people need. They'd be less suited to their core audience if they became cluttered with more powerful features and functionality. Most people would not care about those things, but they would care about the reduced available memory, quicker drained batteries, the confusion of a file system, applications (not apps) with extensive menus and loads of unnecessary (to normal people) functionality....

Tablets were invented to simplify things, but laptops were not lost. Why can't people who need the full functionality of a computer just use computers designed for and vastly superior at that? Why ruin the tablet experience trying to make it be something it's not?

 

[rrl]

redscull doesn't get it, but that's okay, 'cause neither does Apple.

 

[FutureTechHope]

Do you think that Apple will release a product with Surface 3 specs that will be cheaper?

I would like that, but on a MAC OS. I know, it's wishful thinking.

----------

Who is we? You got a mouse in your pocket? What's the point of a tablet if it's going to do everything your laptop does? IMO, a tablet is a complementary device that can replace some things people were/are doing on their laptops and in some cases perhaps be a laptop replacement depending on use case. To me a tablet is meant to be more portable, more personal and more for consuming. If I need to do real work doe extended periods of time I want a device that has a larger screen, proper keyboard/trackpad.

Seems to me Windows 8 and Microsoft's Surface were all about protecting and perpetuating Windows, not providing the best consumer experience. I'd much rather have something like Continuity/Handoff than Apple shoving OSX on to a tablet.

lol no, a few student friends agree with me on this point.

 

[melendezest]

A BIGGER IPad? Are we not moving to smaller products, I thought the new iPhone was supposed to fill the niche of a bigger IPad.

Only in Apple-land. Which may (or may not) account for the "speed bump" Tim refers to.

Certainly in my case, bigger is better, but that is just one aspect. The iPad/iPhone's (and iOS's) limitations and hyper-tight "closedness" vs the competition sealed it for me.

I won't purchase any iOS devices until that changes. And I wager it won't, sadly, given I love Apple's hardware design.

 

[MacBram]

They couldn't sustain their retention of users

Others opted for smaller tablets

Apple was late to that segment of the market.

Are you telling me it's a lost cause?

Not at all, just the opposite.

I am saying that starting with 0 and selling, what, 5 million the first quarter, in effectively a brand new category, meaning Apple had 100% marketshare by definition... To now, selling 15+ million per quarter, into an exploding market in which other players are now deciding to throw their hats, having seen that the tablet is a "thing" : that doesn't constitute a "falling" marketshare that somehow spells doom for Apple.

All those people buying 100-200 dollar tablets are going to quickly find out that they don't in fact have something comparable to the iPad.

Whatever marketshare the iPad eventually settles out at, whether it is the 70+% of the iPod, or the 10% of the Mac, or somewhere in between like the iPhone, it's still going to be a growing segment of a growing market for a good long while. And it will be the bench mark and the product of all tablets that is actually profitable. All that competitors can do is try all sorts of sizes; Apple is still working on things that are actually going to make a tablet compelling and give it purpose.

I think people in developing markets who "must have" a smartphone in order to function productively, but can't quite justify or don't need a laptop, just haven't found their killer use for a tablet yet. I think it is early days. I disagree that the iPad isn't great at differentiating apps from iPhone. The people who say so point to some automatic scaling and repositioning of apps on Android. But the great thing about the iPad is that developers are encouraged to re-imagine apps and their UI/UX for the iPad. Some are greatly different and really compelling. I am finding new jobs all the time which I now do exclusively on my iPad and stop doing them on my Mac or phone (like all my expense reporting and invoicing; and all Evernote related organization of information).

 

[Sy7ygy]

Doesn't help that iOS 7 wasn't a fantastic upgrade.

I hopped onto an iPad 2 still running iOS 6 earlier today - breath of fresh air. Far more intuitive & neater OS.

The flat design _looks_like_crap - the lack of pseudomorphic design also retracts the Apple feeling.

My devices feel cold, distant and often buggy.

 

[JAT]

easy to solve that, iOS just needs a pro mode, see how I didn't call it a dumb mode, much nicer the first way pro mode could just be like a more in-depth version of restrictions.

It does. It's called "jailbroken".

 

[zipa]

As frustratingly limited as they are vs how expensive they are, I quite frankly marvel that they ever became as popular as they have.

Yup, I'd say that we've gone past the peak interest already. They have their uses, but 95% of the time I find myself grabbing my laptop when I want to do something. Kindle is the only thing I prefer using the iPad for these days, so our iPad is mainly collecting dust.

 

[Four oF NINE]

Are you sure that Cook even have a vision ?

Not really. I think he's more bureaucrat than visionary.

 

[rei101]

Tim Cook is a loser. He is vandalizing Apple.

 

[Milese3]

I honestly think the only way Apple could tackle this "speed bump" would be to deploy a ~12.9" iPad. It would capture a new market.

We can only hope.

 

[s2mikey]

Why would this even make a difference? Most computer users do not in fact create content. Go back to the pre-tablet era and you find tons of "normal" people who have desktop computers for simple things like email and web browsing. Their systems were capable of far more, but they didn't need any if that. They also didn't upgrade more than every few years, if even that. Look at the surge in new PCs recently because of all those ancient XP machines being rendered unsupported.

These people were/are perfectly served by tablets; tablets which focus on media consumption and make it super simple and fast. The lack of content creation proficiency is what makes tablets so great. They do a job really well that a lot of people need. They'd be less suited to their core audience if they became cluttered with more powerful features and functionality. Most people would not care about those things, but they would care about the reduced available memory, quicker drained batteries, the confusion of a file system, applications (not apps) with extensive menus and loads of unnecessary (to normal people) functionality....

Tablets were invented to simplify things, but laptops were not lost. Why can't people who need the full functionality of a computer just use computers designed for and vastly superior at that? Why ruin the tablet experience trying to make it be something it's not?

You are correct. I do use my iPad for some productivity and whatever but for the most part it's a media device and I'm fine with that. It's fast, slick, cool, and performs it's tasks perfectly. What more could you want? These folks that want iPad to replace powerful desktops and servers just aren't getting it. Tablets are NOT for that purpose so stop trying to make them that way. Ugh.

 

[sflomenb]

Why would this even make a difference? Most computer users do not in fact create content. Go back to the pre-tablet era and you find tons of "normal" people who have desktop computers for simple things like email and web browsing. Their systems were capable of far more, but they didn't need any if that. They also didn't upgrade more than every few years, if even that. Look at the surge in new PCs recently because of all those ancient XP machines being rendered unsupported.

These people were/are perfectly served by tablets; tablets which focus on media consumption and make it super simple and fast. The lack of content creation proficiency is what makes tablets so great. They do a job really well that a lot of people need. They'd be less suited to their core audience if they became cluttered with more powerful features and functionality. Most people would not care about those things, but they would care about the reduced available memory, quicker drained batteries, the confusion of a file system, applications (not apps) with extensive menus and loads of unnecessary (to normal people) functionality....

Tablets were invented to simplify things, but laptops were not lost. Why can't people who need the full functionality of a computer just use computers designed for and vastly superior at that? Why ruin the tablet experience trying to make it be something it's not?

Perfect. Couldn't have said it better myself!