The iPad's decline is just the beginning. The tech industry is doomed by a lack of creativity.

"The biggest enemy in life is not others, but yourself."

Apple has always been regarded by consumers in the industry as a "barometer" of digital development. As a company with technology as its core driving force, Apple's every move does indeed hint at the future development direction of digital products.

Recently, Apple launched a new 9.7-inch iPad without any warning. The name of this product is very simple, using the name of the most original iPad as the code name of the new product. Not only that, Apple also removed old products such as iPad Air2 and iPad mini2 from the shelves at the same time.

It can be seen that Apple is working hard to simplify its iPad production line. However, Apple, which has already firmly sat in the top position in the tablet industry, has taken such a move. Perhaps the tablet category has become "yesterday's news."

iPad's advantages are no longer obvious, and its market positioning is a bit awkward

iPad sales have been on a downward trend since 2013. Although Apple believes this is a normal "speed bump", the data currently available shows that the downward trend has reached a worrying level.

According to a latest statistical report from Trendforce, iPad shipments in 2016 were only 42 million units, down 14.1% year-on-year. Last year, global tablet shipments were about 160 million units, and Apple became a "burden" in comparison.

As for the iPad, which is now in trouble, its initial success was due to Apple positioning it between the iPhone and the MacBook, taking into account both portability and functionality. However, with the continuous upgrading of products in recent years, the iPad, which was once used to fill the blank market, is now being cannibalized by the iPhone and the MacBook.

On the one hand, Apple has been moving towards larger-screen mobile phones in recent years. Although the iPhone 7 Plus, Apple's latest generation product, has only a 5.5-inch screen, it has had a huge impact on the iPad. According to IDC data, users who have purchased the iPhone 7 Plus have significantly reduced demand for the iPad, or the iPad's large screen is no longer attractive.

On the other hand, the MacBook has been designed to be a thinner and lighter laptop. For many business people who travel frequently, although the iPad is lighter in comparison, the high degree of integration of the MacBook is more irresistible. Therefore, the more comprehensive desktop system application form of the MacBook will surely further affect the sales of the large-size iPad.

However, behind the constant "internal fighting" among Apple products, what is exposed is the problem of overlapping functions that Apple has always had.

Functional overlap is serious and product infighting has become a tradition

History always repeats itself. The difficulties faced by iPad today are also the ones experienced by iPod Touch.

At that time, iPod was Apple's iconic product before the iPhone appeared, and it once served as Apple's pillar business. Also in 2013, when Apple sold 51 million iPhones and 26 million iPads, iPod sales were only 6 million. Of Apple's $57.6 billion in revenue, iPod only accounted for $976 million, which has become a small business for Apple.

After all, the iPod Touch is essentially the same as the iPhone except that it cannot make calls. Especially when all the functions of the iPod Touch are also available on the iPhone, who would choose the iPod Touch except for its price advantage?

In fact, Apple products have always been "cannibalizing each other". In terms of product lines, most of Apple's products have very serious overlaps in terms of functions. For example, the functions of the iPod touch are completely covered by the iPhone, and the iPad air and iPad mini are only different in size. For most ordinary users, this means that they don't actually need to buy all of Apple's products. It can even be said that in the future, an iPhone can fully realize the functions of all products.

Faced with the trend of integration and the dilemma of innovation, tablets may exit the stage early

Traditionally, the functionality of mobile phones, tablets and laptops has increased, while their mobility has decreased. For consumers, it is a painful thing to choose products based on their usage every time.

Faced with consumers' ever-increasing demands for products, the integration of different products has become a future trend. This can be seen from the fact that tablets and mobile phones are the first to seek integration. After all, for these digital product companies, adding a communication module to a tablet is not a difficult task, and as mobile phone screens become larger and tablet screens become smaller, this integration is inevitable.

At the same time, although the iPad opened up the tablet market for Apple, it only lasted less than 10 years from its invention to its end. During this period, although Apple vigorously developed various new functions on the iPad, the difficulty of technological innovation today can be seen from the homogeneity of digital products on the market.

The decline of the iPad reflects the development dilemma of the entire technology industry. On the one hand, there is really no amazing new innovation in the entire technology industry. On the other hand, VR and AR, which the entire industry has high hopes for, not only have not met the expected vision, but now it seems that most of the innovations in the direction of virtual reality have deviated from reality.

Faced with the trend of integrated development and the dilemma of difficulty in innovation, the iPad may really have said what practitioners have in their hearts, "The tablet is dead, burn paper if you have something to do; the tablet is dead, it's better not to do it."

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.