How High Did iPad Sales Go During The Holiday Quarter?
January 22, 2014
On Monday, Jan. 27, Apple will announce the financial results of its first fiscal quarter. How many iPads did Apple sell between October and December? As they did earlier this week with iPhone sales, Fortune looked to the experts for answers.
The consensus among 45 analysts is that Apple will announce iPad unit sales of 25 million, or a 10 percent increase year over year. The first quarter of 2013 is the current record holder, at 22.9 million units sold.
Among analysts, Raul Reina is the most bullish. The Braeburn Group analyst believes Apple sold 28 million iPads during the quarter. Avi Silver from CLSA is the least bullish among the analysts cited. Silver believes Apple sold 21 million iPads during the holiday quarter.
Fortunes says that projecting iPad sales isn't always easy -- especially this time around. They note, "The iPad Air didn't ship until Nov. 1, missing one third of the quarter; the new iPad Mini (with Retina display) showed up 12 days later and was in short supply all the way through Christmas."
Apple announced the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display on Oct. 22.
On Tuesday, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) said the iPad Air was the best selling Apple tablet in the United States between October and December. The original iPad mini followed, with the iPad mini with Retina display coming in third.
As previously noted by Fortune, the consensus among 44 analysts is that Apple will announce iPhone unit sales of 55.3 million, or a 16 percent increase year over year. The first quarter of 2013 is the current record holder, at 47.8 million units sold.
See also: Report: Phablet Shipments To Reach 120 Million Units Over The Next 4 Years, Shipments For New Mac Pro Orders Slip Into March In Some Countries, and Report: Apple Sold Around 80 Million iOS Devices During The Previous Quarter.
