Apple iPad Faces Mature Tablet Market

The recent release of the Apple Watch raises the question of whether Apple (and other device manufacturers) has run out of profitable options for new device types. Barring some fundamental new feature (holographic, 3D or virtual-reality displays), devices like tablets, smartphones and smartwatches will at base remain the same thing: a computer with a built-in display. The difference is primarily size (and thus room for computing power): a tablet is more or less a downsized notebook PC, a smartphone is a pocket-size tablet and a smartwatch is a wearable smartphone. Of course, each step down the size ladder removes features and processing power, and it reduces screen size, limiting the potential for productivity.

In addition, slowing progress in each device category (thanks in part to a slowing Moore's Law) means consumers see less of an incentive to upgrade. Galen Gruman notes at InfoWorld, "Tablets, especially iPads, are like laptops in that models perform adequately for years. The truth is that a nearly four-year-old third-generation iPad is still a perfectly good iPad, and the advantages of the newer generations (speed, weight, and Touch ID) are simply not enough to justify spending $500 to $1,000." The same phenomenon now plagues PCs, leading to declining sales (thanks also to availability of mobile devices). Gruman adds, "Across the board, tablets are in a replacement-market phase, and that will tamp down the demand for the foreseeable future."

Adding new tablet models, such as the rumored but unconfirmed "iPad Pro," would likely have little effect on the market beyond, perhaps, shuffling some share among existing consumers. Gruman said, "Maybe there will be an 'iPad Pro' and it will do something unexpected and compelling that will create a new niche in the mobile world, in the way Apple is trying to do with the Apple Watch….But I wouldn't count on it." A revolutionary new device must serve a consumer need rather than just attempting to manufacture it; meeting that challenge may require a new company with fresh insights—assuming it is even feasible.

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About Jeff Clark

Jeff Clark is editor for the Data Center Journal. He holds a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Richmond, as well as master's and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech. An author and aspiring renaissance man, his interests range from quantum mechanics and processor technology to drawing and philosophy.

Source: Apple iPad Faces Mature Tablet Market