Apple's iPad Business Now Bigger Than MacBook Business. Next Up: Entire Mac Business

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

MG Siegler is a general partner at CrunchFund and a columnist for TechCrunch, where he has been writing since 2009. His focus is on Apple. Prior to TechCrunch, MG covered various technology beats for VentureBeat. Originally from Ohio, MG attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. He’s previously lived in Los Angeles where he worked in Hollywood and in... → Learn More

Apple had a lot of big numbers to share during their Q1 2011 earnings today. And while the biggest unsurprisingly belonged to the iPhone, the iPad numbers are also very, very impressive. How impressive? The iPad business is already a bigger business than Apple’s portable computer business. That includes MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and MacBook Airs. And it’s within spitting distance of surpassing Apple’s entire Mac business in terms of revenue.

Last quarter, Apple sold 7.33 million iPads. Broken down, they made just over $4.6 billion off of the product for the quarter. That puts it ahead of the $3.69 billion the MacBook business made for Apple during the same time frame.

The iPad actually nearly started outselling Macs right out of the gates in terms of actual units (which did happen last quarter). But the higher price points of Macs ensured that they maintained an edge in revenues. But the iPad was able to surge past the MacBooks in that category this past quarter thanks to a huge spike in sales, while the MacBooks sales rose less dramatically.

But perhaps even more impressive is that the iPad is already closing in on Apple’s total Mac business. The portable plus desktop (iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, and Xserver) sales totaled $5.43 billion in revenue last quarter. So the iPad just needs another $800 or so million to surpass it. That will happen at some point this year. Perhaps even next quarter depending on when the iPad 2 is unveiled.

In total, Apple has now sold 14.8 million iPads since the device’s launch last April.

MoreApple’s Cook On iPad/Mac Relationship: “If This Is Cannibalization, It Feels Pretty Good.”

Company: Apple
Website: apple.com
Launch Date: April 1, 1976
IPO: February 25, 1980, NASDAQ:AAPL

Started by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, Apple has expanded from computers to consumer electronics over the last 30 years, officially changing their name from Apple Computer, Inc. to Apple, Inc. in January 2007. Among the key offerings from Apple’s product line are: Pro line laptops (MacBook Pro) and desktops (Mac Pro), consumer line laptops (MacBook) and desktops (iMac), servers (Xserve), Apple TV, the Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server operating systems, the iPod (offered with...

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Product: iPad
Website: apple.com
Company Apple

The Apple iPad, formerly referred to as the Apple Tablet, is a touch-pad tablet computer announced in January 2010, and released in April 2010. It has internet capabilities running on either WiFi or 3G, and offers an optional dock with a full size mechanical keyboard. The 3G is provided by AT&T, but comes unlocked with microsim cards on the GSM network. The 3G does not require a long-term contract. The iPad is a line of tablet...

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