CIRP says a somewhat similar share of iPad buyers, a little under half, upgrade from base storage. The exception is iPad mini, for which only one-third of buyers upgrade from base storage.
Why do iPad and iPhone buyers upgrade from base storage at similar rates when there are somewhat different use cases between them? iPad owners use devices to consume content more than to communicate with others. CIRP says that one might think that maintaining sufficient storage capacity for on-device video or music would drive upgrades, but it doesn’t.
“Half of iPad buyers have only WiFi access and half also have a cellular connection. Of course, all iPhones have both,” says CIRP. “ So one might expect iPad buyers to demand more native storage, for times when they cannot stream their entertainment, like when traveling or in transit. Despite this, iPad buyers are tracking the latest iPhone buyer trend, relying on streaming or somehow finding enough capacity on a base storage iPad to meet their entertainment needs.
