Apple's iPad sales have been going through a rough time lately. In the most recent quarter, the year-over-year revenue dipped to 29%, as told by the Motley Fool. And what's even worse, the sales have taken a turn for the worst in the last several quarters.

What's to Blame for the Sales Downslope

The DigitalBookWorld offers a straightforward take on the matter: tablets, in general, are "ceding ground to other devices, not least of all smartphones." They pointed out that tablets, nowadays have become more of an accessory rather than a necessity.

The Silver Lining

Apple CEO Tim Cook remains optimistic amid the decline. "I think still I believe the iPad is an extremely good business over the long term. When precisely it begins to grow again, I wouldn't want to predict, but I strongly believe that it will," he said, the TalkingNewMedia wrote.

There are some reasons that probably led Cook into believing that there's still no need to panic. For one, despite the year-over-year slump in sales for the first quarter, going from 16.35 million units sold in 2014 to 12.62 million this year, Apple is still the best salesman in this section of the market.

There may not be a growth in sales, but it doesn't follow that consumers are ditching their tablets altogether. The iPad, in the first year after its launch, sold less than 20 million. Today, it is projected to sell about 55 million units in this fiscal year alone, TalkingNewMedia cited.

The replacement cycle of the tablet can also help boost sales in the coming years. The iPad 2, well beyond its fourth year, will most likely be ripe for replacement for many users, and in time for the release of the next version.

Turning Things Around

In addressing the issue of cannibalization from the iPad's sister products of iPhones and Macs, Apple may try painting a clearer distinction on how an iPad differs from its phone counterpart. The recent move to release an iPhone with a bigger display, but almost the same platform capability, has taken a good chunk out of the iPad sales, the DC Inno notes.

Apple could start things off by releasing an iPad with a much bigger display. As MacRumors pointed, the new iPad could go up to 12.9 inches. Another step-up could include a stylus accessory and a standard USB-C data port for all its products, DC Inno added.

The company could also make moves geared at capturing new markets. The new iPad could be redesigned to cater to business people, bringing a stylus tool, better typing, heavy usage capability and a more standardized office suite of apps, among others. And, IBM could lend them a hand with the new partnership coming to play.

Another option is to explore far from Cupertino. Cook mentioned that there's great potential for sales of the iPad in China, a market not saturated with tablets, TalkingNewMedia said.

For the new iPad mini 4, they could do better than adding Touch ID and offer the product in gold, as what they did with the iPad mini 3. The Motley Fool suggests an upgrade to a more powerful A8 chip found inside of the iPhone 6/6 Plus; from 1 GB of memory to 2; from the old 802.11n Wi-Fi to at least single-stream 802.11ac and more slimming down of the tablet's 7.5-millimeter thickness.

As for the iPad Air 3, the Motley Fool expects an upgrade of the applications processor for enhanced graphics, and even more memory bandwidth. And, the new iPad can also make an improvement regarding their UI that allows for a multitasking/multi-window functionality.