In the June quarter, market data showed that for the first time ever, Apple’s iPad is officially replacing sales of traditionally used PCs in schools and with students.
In a note to investors, Charlie Wolf, with Needham & Company, said that PC education shipments fell by 265,000 units or 13.9 percent from the June quarter one year ago. At the same time, Apple sold close to a million iPads in the K-12 market in June, which is “definitive evidence” that the iPad has been taking over PC sales in the U.S. education market, according to Wolf.
Apple’s iPad sales in the June quarter double what the company sold a year ago. Also during this quarter, iPad sales nearly doubled the number of Macs that were sold to educational buyers.
Wolf said, “In view of the fact that Mac sales held steady at around 520,000 units but overall PC sales declined by 265,000 units from 1.90 million to 1.64 million units, we believe the inescapable conclusion is that the iPad is beginning to cannibalize a material portion of PC sales in this market.”
According to Wolf, these iPad sales in the education market are just the tip of the iceberg. He thinks the iPad will start to overtake PC sales in other larger markets in the future, like the home market.
It’s not all ups for Apple though. While the iPad had a strong quarter in June, Mac sales were strong in the U.S. business market, with a 56.6 percent year-over-year growth compared to an 8.8 percent decline for PC sales, but the worldwide home Mac sales fell about 4.6 percent. In July, Apple reported that it had reached a new record for iPad sales, reaching 17 million. Mac sales, on the other hand, grew only 2 percent year-over-year. Still, this was enough for a new June quarter record of sales with 4 million units.
With Apple’s success over the past few years, it will be interesting to watch how Apple, Microsoft, and other PC makers battle it out in the different markets.
Source: Apple Insider
Image Credit: OmniTechNews
