Ignore the Numbers, the iPad Is Apple's Most Successful Product

What other personal gadget do you know of that’s as easily used and loved by consumers of nearly any age, including four-year-olds? (Let’s just put aside debates about whether iPad Kids are the beginning of the end for humanity or not.)

Now, name another tablet off the top of your head. Even if you muttered “the Samsung or Amazon one,” it proves the point. And consider that even as early as 2012, a mere two years after the first iPad launched, stories were already floating around about the iPad becoming a generic term for tablet. 

And what about longevity? iPadOS 17 is the most current edition of the iPad’s operating system. According to Apple, the oldest iPad capable of running the latest OS is the second generation of the iPad Pro, which launched in June 2017, meaning it’ll have had software support for at least seven years. That’s a whole year longer than the oldest iPhone capable of running the latest version of iOS 17, and even slightly longer than the oldest Mac capable of running MacOS Sonoma.

In terms of obtainability, its true that plenty of tablets cost far less than the cheapest 9th gen iPad, which sells for $329. But they also can’t match the iPad’s capabilities. The 10th generation’s MSRP costs a little over a hundred more at $449 but routinely gets discounted for less. The Mini jumps up to $499. Then there’s the iPad Air at $599, and onto the iPad Pros, which can cost as much as $2,399 fully loaded.

That’s the widest range of price entry points for any Apple product line. And while it makes shopping for an iPad more confusing, the upside is there’s an iPad option for nearly everyone who might want one.

A few hardware tweaks can improve the line, but software remains the real issue moving forward.