Two of China’s biggest carriers plan to sell Apple’s iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3. It will be the first time carriers offer China’s customer base access to the tablet models that have Wi-Fi and cellular service. China Telecom and China Unicom made the announcement in the form of press releases on Wednesday.
A look at the iPad cellular support standards
The new tablets will include TD-LTE and FD-LTE standard support. It will also include other cellular support standards for DC-HSDPA and HSPA+ all in the same model. China Unicom’s and China Telecom’s retail stores will sell the iPad. Customers can pick up the iPads at the store.
This sales move should boost iPad sales, but it may not be by a significant number. The decline of iPad sales can be attributed to sales of the iPhone 6 Plus. The larger phablet phone provides consumers the best of both worlds with a smartphone and tablet as one device. One analyst predicts sales will drop even further this year. Last month, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared the speculation that the iPhone will struggle to trump 45 million units and would subsequently result in a 30% decline from 2014.
iPad sale decline
Although the Cupertino-based tech giant is expected to launch a larger iPad for professionals, Kuo does not see the device raising sale numbers in the immediate future. What Apple loses from poor iPad sales, the company can make up for in strong iPhone sales. Last year’s introduction of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus helped stimulate growth in the iPhone line. Sales from the last quarter showed that iPhone sales increased 46%, while revenues increased 57%.
The decline in iPad sales had started before Apple introduced the current generation of iPhones. The sales decline was first noted during the June 2013 quarter. The last quarter of 2013 brought a nice influx of iPad sales, but every quarter in 2014 brought a further decline in tablet sales.
