According to data gathered in October, Microsoft’s line of Surface tablets were able to generate, at least for that month, more revenue than Apple did with its own line of iPad tablets. According to anonymous consumer data gathered by business analysis website 1010data, Microsoft has generated as much as 45% of online sales, while Apple reported 17%, in the US.
The real good news, and the most likely reason for Microsoft’s October spike in sales, has been traced back to July, when tablet sales began a slow but steady growth, from an average of $145M reported in quarter two of 2015, to $205M.
That reason is a combination of two factors: first, Microsoft charges an average price for its Surface tablet devices that is more than double the average price of an iPad. The second factor to consider is the release of a whole new line of products, including the Surface Pro 4, the Surface Book, the iPad Mini 4, and last but not the least, the iPad Pro.
All these are no ordinary tablets, as they all feature specs and capabilities previously unseen prior to this year. This is due to consumers demanding more out of their tablets, such as a level of productivity closer to that of hybrid laptops, and 2-in-1s.
In the specific case of the Surface Pro, this is an exceptionally successful product, because it delivers the performance of a laptop, and the convenience of a tablet, while running a desktop operating system capable of converting its interface from desktop to tablet mode.
By the same token, the iPad Pro works along a similar concept, by providing a large touchscreen display running iOS, along with a stylus and a keyboard, making it a device portable enough to be used on the go, and powerful enough for productivity typically relegated to MacBooks or iMac devices.
Microsoft may not beat Apple for tablet domination, however...
...however, this is hardly the point. For the longest time, the Apple iPad has been the defacto tablet for consumers and businesses. As a matter of fact, the Apple iPad has been regarded as a pop-culture icon. With that said, such status is also one of the reasons for slumping sales of tablets overall.
The general assumption that the iPad is the best tablet that consumers can get for their money, has caused the same consumers to show a tendency to “stick with what works”, which caused most iPad 2 owners to hang on to their tablet for as long as possible. Also, the only real improvements in recent years, has been performance-wise, and added security with the integration of Touch-ID.
With the release of the Surface Pro, along with Windows 10, Microsoft managed to capture consumer’s attention with the bold concept of a tablet that works like a laptop, and as of late, an actual laptop that works like a tablet.
This has prompted Apple to finally consider moving on with production of the iPad Pro, which we can only assume has been on the backburner for quite some time, waiting for the right opportunity. Microsoft and Apple are finally in the position of enjoying some type of symbiotic relationship, where consumers are finally seeing something new on the market from both sides, and with choice, comes interest. This interest may help explaining why tablet sales are starting to ramp up again, and hopefully continue to raise into next year, when new, and improved iterations of this year’s devices will be unveiled with steadier pace.