Apple’s iPad shipments rise 4% year-over-year in the third quarter

On the back of its strong ecosystem, low retail prices, an updated product portfolio, and a solid Prime Day in July, Strategy Analytics reports Amazon tablet shipments were up 141% year-on-year to reach a 14% market share and become the second largest tablet vendor globally in the third quarter of 2019. 

Apple sold 10.1 million iPads during the quarter for 4% growth year-over-year and still leads the tablet market. Overall, the global tablet market continued to consolidate and shrunk 4% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2019 with 38.2 million units shipped.

Erick Smith, director at Strategy Analytics, says Apple is trying to reinvent the iPad to become a productivity device by adding keyboard support to most models and embedded SIM (eSIM) to all cellular models. The company is still intensely focused on building services around its large installed base, including the newly launched Apple TV+ streaming service, he adds.

“Apple released a slightly larger seventh generation iPad with keyboard support in the third quarter of 2019 for the same price as the previous model, helping drive shipments 4% higher year-on-year,” Smith says. “Larger revenue gains for the company hint at a strong mix of iPad Pros compared to the previous year, as Apple wholesale average selling prices rose by 9%.”