Apple reported today that iPad tablet sales passed 11.4 million during its fiscal third quarter, up 15 percent from the same period a year ago.
The last time Apple posted year-over-year iPad growth was more than three years ago — the holiday quarter of 2013, when Apple sold a record 26 million iPads.
Why the surge?
Apple launched several new iPads this year, including a refreshed iPad Pro lineup in June and a lower-priced full-size iPad in March, which seems to have been popular: The average iPad selling price last quarter was $435, down from $490 a year ago. As a result, iPad revenue was up just 2 percent year over year, a slower growth pace than unit sales.
Overall, tablets sales are declining, thanks in part to big-screen smartphones.
And the story of Apple’s iPad, which launched in 2010, has gone from runaway hit to sagging sales to this current stage, where tablets have many clear use cases but also aren’t taking over the world.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?
Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:
First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.
Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.
So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)
If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.
Yes, I'll give $5/month
Yes, I'll give $5/month
We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and
Google Pay. You can also contribute via