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Most iPad owners are using outdated devices, and that's a disturbing trend for Apple

An illustration picture shows application icons on an Apple Ipad tablet held by a woman in Bordeaux, Southwestern France, February 4, 2013.  REUTERS/Regis Duvignau
The iPad 2 is still the most used iPad. Thomson Reuters

More people use the iPad 2 than any other iPad, according to a study by market research film, Localytics, shared by AppleInsider.

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The study collected data from over 50 million iPads, and over 20% of those were the iPad 2, which was released way back in March 2011.

The second most used iPad is the iPad mini, which was released in late 2012. 

To compare, only 9% of iPad owners in the study use the latest iPad Air 2 that was released in 2014, and 0.3% use the latest iPad mini 4, which came out this year. 

Despite features like thinner designs, sharper screens, and more power, people just aren't interested in buying newer iPads, the data shows.

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The data is a clear reflection of the declining iPad sales that Apple has been experiencing for several years.

One of the reasons why sales are declining is because if someone already has an older iPad model, there's very little reason to upgrade. Older iPad models are still perfectly capable of doing what most people want them to do. They're largely consumption devices designed to stream videos and browse the web and social media, and those tasks don't need the latest and fastest specs to work well. 

iPad Device Share localytics
Localytics

Apple's current lineup of iPads don't make great productivity machines, either. They have relatively small 9.7-inch screens and limited functionality with accessories like keyboards and styli.

Apple is looking to change that with the iPad Pro, which has a larger 12.9-inch screen, more power, and optional keyboard and stylus accessories. The iPad Pro launches later this month.

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But the iPad Pro still can't do every thing a full PC like the MacBook can do. It also starts at $799 before you buy the optional $169 keyboard case, which is in the same price range as the MacBook Air, which starts at $899.

For now, there doesn't seem to be a compelling reason for people to upgrade their iPads very often, and the data from Localytics shows people are content using older models for several years.

Apple iPad
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