The Apple iPad and iOS have dominated the tablet market since their introduction. Despite some predictions by Gartner that it would not relinquish the top spot until 2015, iOS was pushed down into second spot by Android last year. While sales rose again, they could not match Android’s 127% growth over the previous year. Gartner attributed Android’s success to the low-end smaller screen tablet market and first time buyers with emerging markets accounting for a majority of that growth.
A total of 195.4 million tablets were shipped in 2013. Google’s Android, represented by a swath of manufacturers, accounted for 120.9 million of those or 62% of the global tablet market in 2013. Apple iPad shipments hit 70.4 million, good for 36% of the market. Microsoft took third with 4 million tablets shipped or about 2.1% of all shipments.
Gartner noted that Apple’s tablets “remain strong in the higher end of the market.” The iPad mini held up well in the smaller-screen market and should continue to sell well. It may well be content to leave Android tablet manufacturers to fight out at the lower price echelons even at the price of the top spot as long as it can maintain its profitability.
“In 2013, tablets became a mainstream phenomenon, with a vast choice of Android-based tablets being within the budget of mainstream consumers while still offering adequate specifications,” said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner. “As the Android tablet market becomes highly commoditized, in 2014, it will be critical for vendors to focus on device experience and meaningful technology and ecosystem value — beyond just hardware and cost — to ensure brand loyalty and improved margins.”
Not surprisingly, much of Android’s success can be attributed to Samsung. It saw shipments rise from 8.5 million in 2012 to 37.4 million in 2013. So while Android dominates on the operating side, Apple continues to dominate at the vendor level. The top five tablet vendors in 2013 were:
- Apple – 70.4 million
- Samsung – 37.4 million
- ASUS – 11.0 million tablets (presumably including the Google Nexus 7 tablets)
- Amazon – 9.4 million
- Lenovo – 6.5 million
Given Samsung’s explosive growth in 2013, it remains to be seen how much longer Apple can remain the top tablet vendor.
Source : Gartner