Demand for Apple's iPad Mini may be waning as more users gravitate toward bigger—and smaller—devices.
The larger iPad Air 2 commanded about 93 percent of iPad pre-orders from Oct. 17-19, the first weekend of availability, according to Slice Intelligence, a data analytics firm that focuses on brand loyalty.
A third of iPad Air 2 buyers had recently purchased an iPad Mini, a sign that the tiny tablet is falling out of favor as Apple moves to make iPhones bigger, according to Slice, a subsidiary of of Japan-based e-commerce firm Rakuten.
On the other hand, iPad Mini fans appeared loyal to the device as 45 percent of Mini 3 buyers upgraded from its predecessor. The data only covers iPad sales that were made on the Slice shopping platform.
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Apple unveiled the iPad Mini 3 and iPad Air 2, priced at $399 and $499, respectively, as it battles to compete in the increasingly crowded tablet sector.
Overall, sales of iPads are declining.
On Tuesday, Apple reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.42 per share on $42.1 billion in revenue, blowing past Wall Street projections as iPhone sales rose 21 percent from a year ago.
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However, the tech heavyweight said iPad sales slid 14 percent year-over-year, to $5.32 billion, with about 12.32 million units sold during the quarter, missing expectations for shipments of 13.37 million units, according to StreetAcount.
In a separate report, research firm eMarketer predicted that Apple's share of the U.S. tablet market will decline to about 52 percent from 55 percent a year earlier. In the U.K., the figure is projected to fall to 53 percent from 57 percent in 2013, eMarketer said.