Record-Breaking 26 Million Apple iPads Sold During Holiday Season Despite Market Challenges

The quarterly release of sales and revenue figures by Apple is eagerly anticipated in the consumer electronics industry and has been seen as an indicator of where the rest of the market is headed ever since the iPhone was introduced in 2007.

Of course, what interests us most are the sales figures for Apple tablets. After all, the iPad and iPad Mini are the best-selling tablets on the market, and the introduction of the first device led to a relatively quick resurgence of what had been a relatively quiet market segment.

Record Sales, Disappointed Investors

While tablet sales have slumped somewhat in the US over the past few months and are expected to decline in the UK this year, Apple continues to benefit from otherwise strong global growth in the tablet segment.

Last quarter, Apple once again dazzled with record sales: 26 million iPads were sold, the highest number ever within a quarter. For comparison, in the same period of 2012, “only” 22.9 million Apple tablets were sold.

And although Apple set new sales records for tablets and smartphones, the stock fell 8 percent after hours. The reason is the insufficient growth and the rapid catching up by the competition. This is not entirely unfounded, as even though both Apple tablets are the best-selling products in their segment, Android devices have been able to nearly double their market share within a year due to the sheer volume of different manufacturers wanting a piece of the pie. Consequently, Apple felt compelled to enter the market for smaller and more affordable devices with the iPad Mini.

However, even as Apple’s share of the tablet market decreases, it’s important to remember that the company remains unbeaten in content provision. Additionally, Apple is increasingly focusing the iPad on the educational sector alongside multimedia consumption. The aim is to integrate specially adapted digital textbooks more deeply into everyday school life. While the initial steps have been somewhat shaky, history has shown that the company should not be underestimated.