iPad 2 demand falls as customers scoop up newer iPad models

The iPad 2 held its own against the iPad 3 and iPad 4, but the latest sales data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners suggest interest in the aging tablet is slipping. Instead of the iPad 2, customers are buying up the iPad Air and the iPad mini.

The drop in iPad 2 sales was precipitous following the introduction of the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini. In September before the unveiling of the new tablets, the iPad 2 accounted for 22 percent of all iPad sales. Once the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini debuted, iPad 2 sales dropped to 5 percent in December.


The iPad Air (41 percent) and the iPad mini (25 percent) were the big winners in the holiday quarter, accounting for 66 percent of all iPad sales combined. The iPad mini with Retina display, grabbed 16 percent of sales, which is decent considering that supplies were constrained part of the quarter. One side effect of this shift away from the inexpensive models and towards the more expensive iPad Air is the improvement in the average sales price for Apple’s iPad lineup. After declining for almost two years, the ASP rose slightly from $436 in Q3 2013 to $439 in Q4 2013.