Skip to main content

Best Buy CEO claims iPad has killed 50 percent of laptop sales

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The iPad is a success. Sure, we have known that for a while — ever since the doors opened the first morning that it was released and people were ripping other people’s fingers off to get a hold of one — but the iPad now appears to be such a success that it is making people turn away from more conventional forms of technology in favor of Apple’s tablet.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Best Buy CEO Brian Dun claimed that the iPad has cannibalized sales from PC based laptops by as much as 50 percent.

“People are willing to disproportionately spend for these devices because they are becoming so important to their lives,” Dun said. “We are really positioning the company to be the place where people can come and see the best of the connected world.”

As the holiday season approaches, Best Buy will continue to heavily stock the iPad, as well as other mobile gadgets, including a wide selection of smartphones and the Amazon Kindle. Best Buy also has plans to create an area in most of its stores to set up demos for the Microsoft Kinect and the Sony Move, as well as other video game accessories, further putting an emphasis on gadgets rather than larger ticket items such as 3D TVs, which have seen a large decline in sales from last year.

“It’s a very different environment now,” Stephen Baker, the chief electronics analyst for NPD said. “The real cool stuff now will be the tablets, e-readers and probably the higher-end digital cameras.”

Editors' Recommendations

Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
Apple has quietly killed its cheapest iPad
Three 2021 iPads are stacked on a table.

The iPad lineup has received a price bump after Apple quietly killed its cheapest iPad model. Apple’s 9th-generation iPad used to cost $329, but has been discontinued. At the same time, the company has reduced the 10th-gen iPad’s starting price by $100, which means it’s now priced at $349. As a result, getting the cheapest iPad means you'll now spend $20 more than before.

The 9th-gen Apple iPad was launched in 2021 with the A13 chipset and Apple's Center Stage featur,e but retained the same old design with the already-old Lightning port and home button. With Apple moving to a USB-C port on all devices to comply with EU laws, it was inevitable that Apple would discontinue the 9th-gen iPad this year. The iPhone SE remains the only Apple product with a home button and a Lightning port that's still available in the company's lineup.

Read more
Apple updated two of its biggest iPad apps, and they look amazing
A screenshot of the new Final Cut Pro app.

Apple pulled off a surprise today with a pair of new iPad Pros that leverage the new M4 silicon. To go with it, the company has also revealed updated versions of the Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro apps that introduce a healthy bunch of new features to take advantage of all the firepower the M4 offers.

Starting with Final Cut Pro 2 for iPad, the app gains new tricks such as Live Multicam, external drive support, Live Drawing, and more. Apple claims that thanks to the M4 silicon, the updated app boosts rendering speeds by 2x and opens the doors for 4x higher streams for editing ProRES RAW content.

Read more
Apple’s new iPad Air is official, with a lot of big upgrades
An official photo of the 2024 iPad Air.

Apple unveiled two new iPad Air models -- an 11-inch version and a 13-inch version -- at its May 7 "Let Loose" event. This is the first time that two iPad Air models have been launched simultaneously, and they're both packed with big upgrades.

The new iPad Air models still feature a Liquid Retina display. However, the 12MP front-facing ultrawide camera with Center Stage has been relocated to the landscape edge, making it perfect for video calls. The camera provides high-resolution photos and detailed 4K video, with support for 240 frames-per-second (fps) in slow-motion.

Read more