- New sales figures show the iPad Pro is by far Apple's most popular tablet
- The iPad Air comes in a distant third behind the affordable base iPad
- Figures don't yet reflect the popularity of the new iPad Mini 7
Thinking about treating yourself (or a loved one) to a new iPad this Christmas or in the Black Friday tablet deals? Some new sales figures have revealed which models other iPad buyers are going for this year – and the distant winner is the iPad Pro.
The figures from analysts CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners) give us our first glimpse of the relative popularity of the new iPad Pro M4 and iPad Air (2024), which both landed in May. They show the sales during the quarter that ended in September.
The slightly surprising conclusion is that while the iPad Pro has retained its market share from last year (at 45% of all iPad sales), the iPad Air has dropped to only 13% (compared to 24% during the same quarter last year).
The main beneficiary has been the base iPad 10 (2022), which is now 33% of all iPad sales. The iPad mini has remained fairly static at 9% of iPad sales, though that should increase during the next quarter when iPad Mini 7 figures are included.
It seems that the iPad Air is in something of a no-man's land, with the base iPad getting a $100 / £100 price cut this year and clearly proving to be the value option. Strangely, the Air is also no longer Apple's lightest iPad, with the iPad Pro models coming in 20g lighter.
Do iPad buyers care about Apple Intelligence?
What these figures don't yet tell us is what impact (if any) Apple Intelligence features will have on iPad buying decisions.
Apple's take on AI-powered tools, which Apple unveiled in September, will bring new features to Mail, Messages, Photos, Siri, and more. The base iPad is now the only model that doesn't support Apple Intelligence features, which require an M1 chip or later (and also work on the new iPad mini's A17 Pro chip).
If the features are a big factor in iPad purchasing decisions, we should see a reasonably big shift from the base iPad to the iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. But then again, the base iPad continues to offer great value – and we still consider it the best iPad for most people.
In fact, the third model in our list is the even older iPad 10.2 (2021), which continues to be available from third-party sellers and could offer good value in the Black Friday iPad deals.
Right now, the iPad mini 7 is the cheapest way to get Apple Intelligence, so if you do want that software future-proofing and don't mind an 8.3-inch screen, it could now be a tempting alternative to the base iPad – which now looks unlikely to get an update until 2025.
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