Apple's tablets are on a roll. The iPad line has benefited from the pandemic, and a further boost will come from those launched by the end of 2021
The tablet market has saved itself in the corner. It must "thank" the pandemic if it has returned central in the needs of users, threatened as it was by the possible explosion of the market for foldable smartphones. And if this has not yet happened, but not even averted, the pandemic from Covid-19 with telework and distance learning has returned centrality to the tablet.
So despite the arrival of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3 at lower prices than in the past, the tablet market is not dead. And to dominate it, for several years now, is Apple with its iPad: in 2020, sales of Cupertino's tablets have soared, reaching a +79% in year-on-year comparison that would be incredible if there was no pandemic to explain it. Apple of course took the ball and if it is impossible to develop a project from scratch in a year, in light of sales has speeded up projects that were already in the pipeline. So at least one new iPad will arrive before the end of the year.
60 million iPads by year's end: possible
The forecasts are explosive, to hear the rumors. DigiTimes, an Asian newspaper that closely and accurately follows the dynamics of the industry, has obtained information that by the end of 2021 Apple has the possibility to ship 60 million tablets worldwide.
A huge number for the segment of the gadgets from couch or work with large screens, a number that would only strengthen the supremacy of Apple that so far has had very few rivals in a segment where Android products have struggled, perhaps, more than necessary.
The surge in sales of Apple would come through the two new products to be launched by the end of the year, iPad ninth generation and iPad mini 6. We have to use the conditional because Apple has not officially confirmed that they will arrive, but judging by the influx of rumors in recent months, if we had to flip a coin we would bet that they will arrive by the end of the year.
iPad 9 Gen and iPad mini 6, what to expect
He has no doubts for example Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, who has spoken frequently about the new iPads. The journalist, very close to Apple, has not been unbalanced in offering a precise launch window, but it is certain that they will arrive and that they will do so by the end of the year.
The ninth generation iPad would be designed with the world of education in mind, so schools and students in general, and should rely on a revised design with smaller dimensions - in particular it would be thinner - and with a new and faster chip.
More important novelties instead those expected on iPad mini 6, which should have a larger display than in the past (iPad mini 5 dates back to 2019) if only because the current one is poorly optimized. So the extra inches for the benefit of the screen will be derived from the optimization of space and the reduction of bezels: according to the latest rumors, iPad mini should have an IPS display of 8.3 inches, while the current stops at 7.9 inches.