Apple's Share of Tablet Market Sees Slight Holiday Quarter Boost

[Digital Skunk]

Yeah… and around here there were all sorts of promotions going on… Buy a Samsung phone and get a tablet for free… by a Samsung TV and get a tablet for free… sneeze and say "Samsung" at the same time and get a tablet for free.

This is a tired excuse.

Because NEVER has the iPhone 5s or 5c or 4s or 4 been offered for free.

Or here.

----------

...I've not see the other 66% in the wild. Not where I usually visit. Must be where I live?

It must be.

On college campuses, it's all iPads.

Everywhere else I travel, the coffee shop, various network TV stations, PEG TV stations, etc., it's all Android and Windows tablets.

Then again, most of my industry is PC based.

 

[RedOrchestra]

@Rogifan said ... "I don't care that Cook might reference these guys on conference calls, I still don't trust their accuracy."

Hilarious!

 

[nagromme]

When Apple's "market share" rises it means the same thing as when it falls: not much. Even if it were sales and not shipments, even if returns were subtracted, and even if it were real data and not estimates and guesses.

It's not a good measure of Apple's current success, nor future success, nor current user experience/quality, nor future user experience/quality, nor current developer interest, nor future developer interest. It's a red herring compared to more meaningful factors like installed base, developer profitability, ecosystem, usage patterns, business model, development process, customer satisfaction, security, privacy, etc.

 

[samcraig]

When Apple's "market share" rises it means the same thing as when it falls: not much.

It's not a good measure of Apple's current success, nor future success, nor current user experience/quality, nor future user experience/quality, nor current developer interest, nor future developer interest. It's a red herring compared to more meaningful factors like installed base, developer profitability, ecosystem, usage patterns, business model, development process, customer satisfaction, security, privacy, etc.

and yet so many people either take it personally or try to rationalize it whether it's going up or down.

Don't most people by now realize it's not the end-all/be-all?

 

[Winni]

Must be the area where I live. All I see are iPads, on planes, meetings, social events. Very few of the others.

Maybe it's shipped vs. sold & use.

I doubt that. It's rather the US vs the rest of the world. In Germany, I see more Android and Windows devices "in the wild" than I see Apple tablets and phones. I also know many people - including all of my technical colleagues and myself - who simply don't have a use for a tablet AT ALL. These devices are basically gimmicks and toys, but of almost zero practical value unless you use them as an ebook reader or surf board.

 

[RedOrchestra]

When Apple's "market share" rises it means the same thing as when it falls: not much.

It's not a good measure of Apple's current success, nor future success, nor current user experience/quality, nor future user experience/quality, nor current developer interest, nor future developer interest. It's a red herring compared to more meaningful factors like installed base, developer profitability, ecosystem, usage patterns, business model, development process, customer satisfaction, security, privacy, etc.

Maybe not BUT a flat bottom line doesn't go unnoticed by stakeholder's!

YEP, all those extra iPhone and iPad sales, all for naught.

 

[kathyricks]

There will most likely be a time where only professionals who need the versatiliy and extra power of a laptop/desktop will be the target demograhic for desktops and laptops.

On the other hand, 2014 marks the beginning of the ultra high definition 4K consumer video camera movement. Samsung even has a tablet that can shoot 4K video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87nDlOPSPog So I would guess that consumers will need to own relatively powerful laptops and desktops to edit UHD video as it gradually becomes the new mainstream video standard.

 

[Tankmaze]

Samsung starting to kick some butt in the tablet market! 85%!? Damn

Lenovo is kicking more butt with 325% growth, but idk I got some friends who just got samsung tablet and then sell them and trade for an ipad.

But the tablet market would be mature and spread wide unlike the ipod.

 

[Will do good]

I doubt that. It's rather the US vs the rest of the world. In Germany, I see more Android and Windows devices "in the wild" than I see Apple tablets and phones. I also know many people - including all of my technical colleagues and myself - who simply don't have a use for a tablet AT ALL. These devices are basically gimmicks and toys, but of almost zero practical value unless you use them as an ebook reader or surf board.

Ahhhh, the rest of the world. Sorry I was only thinking of the US.

 

[osofast240sx]

Yes. There are massive warehouses in the midwest where Samsung and others are storing tablets to make the market share numbers look better on macrumors.

Apparently Polaroid sell millions of tablets but I've never seen one ever. They may ship millions of tablets but they never make it to an end user.

 

[mccldwll]

The vast majority of tablets never go further than the home or car. Most are family consumption devices.

Shipped vs sold has been debunked thoroughly on this site. The majority of what people call Apple's "sold" number is in fact shipped. The only sales that Apple counts to end user are online, in Apple stores, and some education. So shipped vs sold is not a factor.

Not quite. IDC's shipped numbers are estimates pulled from where the sun don't shine (and all the "analysts" there have warm ears). OTOH, while it's true that product which Apple ships to "channel"--3rd party retailers and carriers-- are considered "sales", Apple provides those numbers AND also provides "channel" numbers--product shipped to 3rd parties, but not sold through--enabling simple and accurate calculation of product sold to consumers. In fact, it's so simple that even most "analysts" can figure it out.

 

[dec.]

I doubt that. It's rather the US vs the rest of the world. In Germany, I see more Android and Windows devices "in the wild" than I see Apple tablets and phones. I also know many people - including all of my technical colleagues and myself - who simply don't have a use for a tablet AT ALL. These devices are basically gimmicks and toys, but of almost zero practical value unless you use them as an ebook reader or surf board.

I disagree. You get the same impression here in Canada, there are barely any other tablets than iPads visible. But then you can say the same about the iPhone here too, so Apple definitely has some dominance in the market.
As for the toy/gimmick part, I've encountered tablets numerous times in professional use cases over the past few months, from simple tasks like interactive info devices at the home hardware store over dentists using them to show different procedures to restaurant waiters using them to submit orders to their main system. So - no they are not of almost "zero practical value".

 

[Digital Skunk]

I disagree. You get the same impression here in Canada, there are barely any other tablets than iPads visible. But then you can say the same about the iPhone here too, so Apple definitely has some dominance in the market.
As for the toy/gimmick part, I've encountered tablets numerous times in professional use cases over the past few months, from simple tasks like interactive info devices at the home hardware store over dentists using them to show different procedures to restaurant waiters using them to submit orders to their main system. So - no they are not of almost "zero practical value".

And I can counter with even more anecdotal evidence.

Here in Maryland, where a lot of people are crammed into a small area of the US, all I see is a mix. But once I step foot into any broadcast facility I see Windows machines, windows tablets, and Android phones.

Most average users have Macbooks, and run Final Cut, but it's all PC and Avid wherever I go.

Also, those that are running iPads for industry related jobs, are running 3rd party software that they either code themselves, or obtain from the 3rd party vendor.

For instance, we have a bunch of iPads at a local network TV affiliate that runs a bunch of Avid software for Interplay and iNews.

They are totally useless when compared to their laptop versions. With that being said, some have found running Windows 8.1 on a Surface far more useful since we get the full version of Interplay, or can at least access the web client side from a full, non-Safari or 32Bit only Chrome browser.

 

[KdParker]

On the other hand, 2014 marks the beginning of the ultra high definition 4K consumer video camera movement. Samsung even has a tablet that can shoot 4K video:

So I would guess that consumers will need to own relatively powerful laptops and desktops to edit UHD video as it gradually becomes the new mainstream video standard.

Why?

Most consumers aren't going to buy a laptop/desktop as an accessory to a 4k camera. Plus there isn't any reason that the editing cannot be done on a tablet.

 

[AppleScruff1]

This is a tired excuse.

Because NEVER has the iPhone 5s or 5c or 4s or 4 been offered for free.

Or here.

----------



It must be.

On college campuses, it's all iPads.

Everywhere else I travel, the coffee shop, various network TV stations, PEG TV stations, etc., it's all Android and Windows tablets.

Then again, most of my industry is PC based.

And the iPad Air was on promotion during the Christmas season too.

 

[KdParker]

I disagree. You get the same impression here in Canada, there are barely any other tablets than iPads visible. But then you can say the same about the iPhone here too, so Apple definitely has some dominance in the market.
As for the toy/gimmick part, I've encountered tablets numerous times in professional use cases over the past few months, from simple tasks like interactive info devices at the home hardware store over dentists using them to show different procedures to restaurant waiters using them to submit orders to their main system. So - no they are not of almost "zero practical value".

Agreed.

All consumers simply don't need everything a laptop can do.

I would bet that most people simply surf the web, answer emails, shop , edit word/excell docuemtns, etc.... everyday tasks that are easily handled by a tablet.

 

[69Mustang]

Not quite. IDC's shipped numbers are estimates pulled from where the sun don't shine (and all the "analysts" there have warm ears). OTOH, while it's true that product which Apple ships to "channel"--3rd party retailers and carriers-- are considered "sales", Apple provides those numbers AND also provides "channel" numbers--product shipped to 3rd parties, but not sold through--enabling simple and accurate calculation of product sold to consumers. In fact, it's so simple that even most "analysts" can figure it out.

You are getting so much closer to my point. I've never cared about shipped vs sold per se. The problem I have is basically within forums. As you pointed out, these analyst numbers are estimates based on... witchcraft and voodoo I guess. They pull the numbers the same way for all the manufacturers. But we take these numbers and parse them for facts to justify our position relative to Apple. It typically boils down to 1. If Apple is leading a particular chart then there is validity and cheers. 2. If Apple is not leading a chart then we get: Samsung sponsored... Shipped vs Sold... Hidden agenda by the analyst or any number of wacky reasons other vendors might have actually sold a product. The vast majority of the MR forum is, what I consider, an intelligent group with a passion for tech. It's the rabid "Apple is the epitome of everything no matter what" group that sort of gets my goat. I understand passions. I have them as well. Mine just don't blur reality. Take your response to my post. It was measured, logical, and convincing. I can respect that all day long. That's why I come to MR. Wow - I am so far off point I'm going to need GPS to find my way back. Apologies.

 

[gatearray]

I think I missed the part where competitors like Samsung actually announced their unit sales numbers.... oh wait, no I didn't, that never happened. All we know is that Samsung sold a total of 100M "Galaxy Devices" including low-end devices with the name "Galaxy" on them.

Yep, back in 2011 Samsung wisely announced they will no longer be sharing these kinds of sales figures, coincidentally right around the time they dropped the word "android" from any of their marketing materials.

Samsung wants the public to assume all of their phone sales were flagship models competing directly with the iPhone, but in reality they were mostly 2.3 devices sold to emerging markets.

These activations contribute significantly to android's global marketshare numbers, but end users in third world countries with little purchasing power don't benefit app developers or even advertisers very much, do they?

 

[Oletros]

Apparently Polaroid sell millions of tablets but I've never seen one ever.

Apparently just in this thread, in the real world there is no report about Polaroid

 

[Karma*Police]

"As always, it is important to note that IDC's numbers track shipments instead of sales, and thus how many shipped devices are making their way into consumers' hands remains unclear. IDC's figures are also estimates, as most companies do not release their exact tablet shipment data and thus research firms must rely on supply chain data and calculations from information that is made public by manufacturers to build their estimates."

In other words, IDC's numbers are meaningless and unreliable but the media keeps posting them anyway because of people's fascination with marketshare.

 

[Oletros]

Yep, back in 2011 Samsung wisely announced they will no longer be sharing these kinds of sales figures, coincidentally right around the time they dropped the word "android" from any of their marketing materials.

Samsung wants the public to assume all of their phone sales were flagship models competing directly with the iPhone, but in reality they were mostly 2.3 devices sold to emerging markets.

These activations contribute significantly to android's global marketshare numbers, but end users in third world countries with little purchasing power don't benefit app developers or even advertisers very much, do they?

Are you saying that in 2013 mostly all of Samsung sales were Android 2.3 devices?

 

[Renzatic]

Apparently just in this thread, in the real world there is no report about Polaroid

I actually know someone who has a Polaroid tablet. He got one cuz he's a cheap bastard.

 

[Konrad9]

Must be the area where I live. All I see are iPads, on planes, meetings, social events. Very few of the others.

Maybe it's shipped vs. sold & use.

What you see is never a good indication of what is being sold and used. In the early 2000's EVERYONE I knew owned and loved their Dreamcast, I knew maybe one person with a PS2. My experience was not remotely indicative of what was selling better.

 

[paul4339]

The difference is Apple products are consistently out of stock so the shipped number does quite accurately represent the sold number. ....

Yup... It's how the numbers are interpreted. If Apple is consistently out of stock, then the sales numbers are less reflective of the demand for the product or Apple's ability to sell the product. It's probably more reflective of Apple ability to produce the product to satisfy that demand.

If Apple is selling almost everything it makes it could mean that the product is doing just fine and there should be more focus on it's supply chain and increasing it's manufacturing capabilities. That is, who's to say that if they would have been able to supply 28M tablets (instead of 26M) it wouldn't have been all sold as well?

.

 

[Iamthinking]

What you see is never a good indication of what is being sold and used. In the early 2000's EVERYONE I knew owned and loved their Dreamcast, I knew maybe one person with a PS2. My experience was not remotely indicative of what was selling better.

Yes and No. There are certainly regional interests, as well as location-specific biases (e.g., there are lots of kindles where people are reading ebooks".

However, I think that the more important point is that in situations in which the vast majority of people used to pull out a laptop (which was often overkill), they are now very often pulling out an ipad. The "pie" is made from whatever crust the analysts want to make it from in order to support their theory/point.

However, as already mentioned in previous posts, the "pie" that matters to developers (showing MY personal bias here) is that iOS is where there's lots to eat!

I would submit that the androids, kindles, and even the surface to some extent -- are the novelty toys that are kinda fun to play with or read a book/watch a youtube, but not to own and cart around all day.

-iamthinking