蘋果公司上周二發布新iPad時傳遞出一個毋庸置疑的深層信息，那就是iPad已經迷失了方向。

這家科技巨擘當天推出的新iPad采用9.7英寸Retina顯示屏，零部件也有提升，售價329美元。同時，蘋果宣布將iPad Mini 4的存儲容量增至128GB。該公司在公告中勇敢地宣稱，新iPad的屏幕“令人贊嘆”，而且具有“難以置信的性能”。但它幾乎沒有掩飾iPad一直存在而且令人擔心的滑坡趨勢。

不久之前，蘋果還曾為新iPad單獨舉辦過發布活動。它不僅會通過令人咋舌的數據來彰顯自家平板電腦的成功，還會愉快地在臺上向全世界展示自己的最新作品。

而今，蘋果介紹新款iPad的方式已降級為新聞發布會和在線商店的悄然更新。對于周二發布時所說的最紅iPad機型和“世界上最受歡迎的平板電腦”，蘋果做的也只有這些。

此外，受歡迎只是一個相對概念。

在截至2013年12月28日的三個月里，也就是蘋果2014財年的首個季度中，iPad的銷量超過2600萬臺，銷售額達115億美元。當時，iPad的業務規模約為iPhone的三分之一，但將近兩倍于Mac，而且差不多是蘋果服務業務的三倍。

在蘋果最新公布的第一財季，也就是截至2016年12月31日的季度業績中， iPad銷量為1310萬臺，實現收入55億美元。iPhone的業務規模已變為iPad的10倍，Mac和服務業務的季度收入也都超過了iPad。

在短短三年時間里，蘋果的iPad業務縮水一半，而且尚未出現止跌企穩跡象。

與此同時，整個平板電腦市場也在直線下墜。研究機構IDC的數據顯示，2016年第四季度全球平板電腦交貨量為5290萬臺，和2015年同期相比減少20.1%。蘋果在平板電腦市場處于龍頭位置，但iPad交貨量下降了18.8%，在五大平板電腦制造商中跌幅居首。

情況正在惡化。

今年2月，IDC全球移動設備季度追蹤部門分析師兼項目副總裁瑞安·里思發表聲明稱，“平板電腦市場繼續穩定增長”，而iPad等無專用鍵盤的“普通平板電腦的受關注程度繼續下降”。里思指出，越來越多的消費者開始把目光投向二合一型混合設備，也就是既能當筆記本電腦，又有觸摸屏，可以當平板電腦使用的產品。

考慮到iPad的性能以及整個市場面臨的挑戰，蘋果不再像幾年前那樣為iPad舉辦大型發布活動的原因就變得更為明顯，那就是它根本沒有可供分享的好消息。

當然，iPad陷入困境絕不是什么新鮮事。這幾年憂心忡忡的分析師一直在向蘋果首席執行官蒂姆·庫克拋出相關問題。2015年，對于iPad銷售情況欠佳的疑問，庫克對分析師說他“仍看好iPad”，而且相信這款產品“有巨大的空間”。

兩年后，這個空間似乎變小了。iPad沒能扭轉自己的命運，蘋果基本上也不再關注這款產品，而將注意力集中在iPhone和其他業務上。就連周二發布的新iPad也只是在內部略作調整，設計則原封未動。

一些蘋果粉絲也許會說，周二發布iPad只是個開始。他們可能以近期傳聞為依據，宣稱蘋果正計劃對iPad Pro系列產品進行更大的調整，其中可能包括推出10.5英寸的新款iPad。媒體報道稱，蘋果有可能在4月份的發布會上展示這些產品。

雖然確實有可能出現這樣的情況——蘋果的保密水平盡人皆知，它從不透露今后的計劃，但蘋果為什么要單獨發布新iPad呢？是打算先拋出這些不起眼的更新，以便為今后更大的動作留下空間嗎？

我們無法下結論。這就像蘋果的其他事物一樣充滿了疑問。但要說有什么東西可以肯定的話，那就是iPad業務正處于危險的下行態勢之中，而且目前所有跡象都表明，蘋果需要采取重大行動才能扭轉其行進軌跡。

但問題在于，這樣做或許已經為時已晚。

《財富》雜志請蘋果發表評論的請求尚未得到回應。（財富中文網）

作者：Don Reisinger

譯者：Charlie

Apple's iPad announcement on Tuesday had an underlying, unmistakable message: the iPad has lost its way.

The tech giant on Tuesday announced a new iPad featuring a 9.7-inch Retina display, improved components, and a $329 price tag. The company also announced that it boosted the iPad Mini 4's storage to 128GB. In a statement, Apple put on a brave face, saying that the iPad has a "stunning" screen and will deliver "incredible performance." But it did little to mask the iPad's ever-present and concerning decline.

There was a time not long ago that Apple (aapl) would have held a special press event focused solely on new iPad models. The company would have shared staggering statistics showcasing its tablet's success, and would have happily stood on the stage holding its latest invention for the world to see.

Now, though, Apple's iPad announcement has been relegated to a press release and a quiet update to its online store. And all this for what Apple said on Tuesday is its most popular iPad version and "the world's most popular tablet."

But popularity is a relative term.

In Apple's 2014 first fiscal quarter, a three-month period ended Dec. 28, 2013, the company sold more than 26 million iPads and generated $11.5 billion in sales. Apple's iPad business was about one-third the size of its iPhone unit, but nearly twice the size of its Mac division and nearly three times the size of its Services business.

During Apple's last-reported fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016, the company sold 13.1 million iPads and generated $5.5 billion in revenue. The iPhone division is now 10 times bigger than Apple's iPad unit, and Mac and Services business lines are now generating more revenue each quarter than its tablet business.

In just three years, Apple's iPad business has been halved—and there is no end in sight to the bloodletting.

Meanwhile, the broader tablet market appears to be in free fall. During the fourth quarter of 2016, 52.9 million tablet units shipped worldwide, a figure that was down 20.1% compared to the same period in 2015, according to research firm IDC. Apple was the tablet market's leader, but its shipments were down by 18.8%—more than any other company in the top five.

It gets worse.

In a statement in February,Ryan Reith, an analyst and program vice president for IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers unit, said that "the tablet market continues to grow stale," and "typical tablets" that don't come with a dedicated keyboard like the iPad "are continuing to lose relevancy." An increasing number of customers, Reith continued, are seeking two-in-one hybrid devices that can be used as notebooks or tablets and come with a touchscreen.

Given Apple's iPad performance and broader market challenges, it becomes clearer why Apple didn't decide to hold a big iPad event like it would have several years ago. The company simply had no good news to share.

Of course, iPad troubles are nothing new, and Apple CEO Tim Cook has been fielding questions from concerned analysts for years. In 2015, Cook was pressed on his company's troubling iPad sales. Cook told analysts that he's "still bullish on iPad" and believes there's "a lot of runway" for the product.

Two years later, that runway seems shorter. The iPad hasn't reversed its fortunes and Apple has largely ignored it, focusing instead on its iPhone and other divisions. Even the new iPad announced on Tuesday delivers only minor internal changes; the design hasn't changed.

Some Apple supporters might say that the iPad announcement on Tuesday is just the beginning. They might point to recent rumors, suggesting Apple is planning a more notable update to its iPad Pro line that could include a new 10.5-inch iPad. Apple could showcase those devices at a press event in April, according to reports.

While that certainly could happen—the notoriously secretive Apple isn't saying anything about its future plans—why would it break apart its iPad announcements? Is Apple trying to get these minor updates out of the way to make room for something bigger down the road?

It's impossible to say. Like anything else in Apple's universe, questions abound. But if anything is certain, it's that the iPad business is in a dangerous state of decline. And all signs right now point to Apple needing to do something big to reverse its course.

The problem, though, is it might already be too late.

Apple did not respond to a Fortune request for comment.