The iPad and iPhone are replacing the iPod as the first Apple product many people buy, according to a recent study. In years past, Apple’s iPod was the device by which many users were introduced to Apple’s products. Recently, though, the iPod has been supplanted, even as Apple’s sales of the iPod have dipped.

According to survey data recently released by the NPD Group, roughly a quarter of all iPad purchases are made by people who are buying their first Apple product. iPads are the fastest-growing product in Apple’s lineup, in terms of sales. In fact, during Apple’s recent earnings report, CEO Tim Cook noted that the iPad has sold 67 million units since the first model’s introduction in 2010. For a little perspective on how amazing that is, it took three years for the iPhone to hit the same mark, and 5 years for the iPod. The Mac, however, did not sell its first 67 million units until twenty-six years after its introduction.

While 82% of Apple owners say that the iPod was their first Apple device, that number has diminished in the two years since the iPad’s launch. According to NPD’s data, only 52% of those who bought their first Apple product in the past two years bought an iPod first.

Another study late last month found that Apple products are now in over half of American homes, with almost a third of American homes owning two Apple products or more. According to NPD’s data, 69% of those owning one or more Apple products own an iPod.

With sales of the iPad continuing to grow and sales of the iPod continuing to shrink (iPod sales have been down for two consecutive quarters) it may only be a matter of time before the iPad becomes the introductory Apple product for a majority of Apple users.

What was your first Apple product? Do you think the iPhone or iPad will ever completely supplant the iPod as the go-to first Apple product? Let us know in the comments.