Apple's Share of Worldwide Tablet Shipments Falls Below 40% in 1Q 2013

[Michael Scrip]

To those spreading FUD like "shipments are not sales" and "I only see iPads around and never Android tablets" - remember how you did the same thing with phone sale numbers? Not so much anymore. Everybody knows now that Android phones outsell iPhone by a wide margin. It's only a matter of time before the same happens for tablets.

I often hear this... but I never hear the result.

What happened to the iPhone when Android phones started to outsell it?

Is it like Talladega Nights "if you're not first you're last" ?

I've said this before... there are always headlines saying "Android has the most market share" or "Android outsells the iPhone" but I never hear any compelling story after that headline.

What does Android have to show for its phenomenal market share... other than that headline?

Apple is still the #2 smartphone vendor who sells every phone they can make (rather expensive phones too)... and iOS is still the #2 smartphone platform with plenty of developers and plenty of customers.

If the iPad eventually drops below Android in tablet market share... it doesn't look like there will be any problems.

Except for the headline.

 

[dec.]

Your dad probably likes his Kindle because all he does is read books on it. If that's all he's ever done, then it was silly to get an iPad 3 for him...complete overkill.

The whole 'I prefer the Kindle' argument usually comes from someone who only uses a tablet for e-reading.

How can you just make assumptions... maybe "his dad" loves to browse the net, read mails and play games on his "1st gen kindle".

This forum is hilarious at times...

 

[4TheLoveOfTech]

Man this is just such baloney. The "experience" of Android 4.2 is AWESOME. The "experience" of iOS 6 is extremely poor.

As a former iPhone user for 5 years, I can say the only way someone would still prefer iOS is if they want their phone interaction to be mind numbingly dull, while being fairly incapable. My Nexus 4 is just amazing. Frankly, it really embarrasses my iPhone 5 in just about every way.

I'm tired of people showing blind devotion to Apple just because. I think a real Apple fan calls it like it is with them, because they want them to do better. I'd go back to the iPhone if they could get their act together. It's unbelievable how far Google has lapped them on the phone.

You stated nothing but opinion and "blind devotion" to Android.

Pot meet Kettle.

 

[Ryth]

How can you just make assumptions... maybe "his dad" loves to browse the net, read mails and play games on his "1st gen kindle".

This forum is hilarious at times...

Because that is what I hear from my demographic of 'kindle' users...

 

[Karma*Police]

These reports aren't very useful since it measures units shipped and more importantly, they're not very accurate. IDC reported that Samsung sold 2 million units a couple of years ago but the Apple/Samsung trial revealed that Samsung actually sold less than 1/10th of that.

 

[Oletros]

These reports aren't very useful since it measures units shipped and more importantly, they're not very accurate. IDC reported that Samsung sold 2 million units a couple of years ago but the Apple/Samsung trial revealed that Samsung actually sold less than 1/10th of that.

IDC reported WORLDWIDE sales of all Samsung smartphones, the trial reported US sales of SOME smartphones.

 

[Ryth]

I often hear this... but I never hear the result.

What happened to the iPhone when Android phones started to outsell it?

Is it like Talladega Nights "if you're not first you're last" ?

I've said this before... there are always headlines saying "Android has the most market share" or "Android outsells the iPhone" but I never hear any compelling story after that headline.

What does Android have to show for its phenomenal market share... other than that headline?

Apple is still the #2 smartphone vendor who sells every phone they can make (rather expensive phones too)... and iOS is still the #2 smartphone platform with plenty of developers and plenty of customers.

If the iPad eventually drops below Android in tablet market share... it doesn't look like there will be any problems.

Except for the headline.

The whole market share thing is not even accurate...need comparisons of market share of similar vendors that carry same phones vs those that don't. Guarantee you it's vastly different.

 

[apolloa]

This is getting old. The first generation of Android tablets were overpriced and unfinished. Shipping sizes were a few 100k, not millions, and many of those were indeed sold with large discounts.

However today Android tablets are competitive in price and offer a decent software package (whether it is as good as iOS is debatable). There are NOT 8 million Samsung tablets sitting on the shelves, nor Kindle Fire's or Nexus 7 (the Asus number). Margins are certainly lower than for iPads, but Android tablets are in business now.

Welcome to reality!

Yeap, I welcomed reality when I got my awesome Nexus 7 which fits in my pockets and is more powerful then the iPad Mini! Sorry, but the Mini is under specced and overpriced.
Now the full size iPad is another thing as that's an awesome powerhouse, but I think if they can bring in the rumoured re-design it will be an even bigger seller. I also think the Mini will pick up once it get's retina and a decent CPU and GPU too.

But I do think Apple have introduced a few too many bugs into iOS recently and that is not really acceptable, hopefully Mr Ive will put it into shape.
I would also argue the Google Play store is actually better then the Apple one in design and ease of use too.

Having both an iOS device and an Android device really opens your eye's and allows you to see what each platform does good and bad (Yes Apple and iOS DO do some things badly).

 

[Renzatic]

You stated nothing but opinion and "blind devotion" to Android.

Pot meet Kettle.

He's speaking from an informed position at least, having used both iOS and Android for an (apparently) extended amount of time.

Most of the time when you see someone bashing Android on here, it's usually "I used Android for 5 minutes and OLOLOL SUK" or "My cousin knows a guy who knows a guy who bought a Galaxy S4 and he took it back 3 days later OLOLOL SUK".

Or they'll speak of the mythical "user experience" that's never explained beyond "oh, you know. It just works. Android doesn't. User experience and all that". As if iOS is a cohesive, smooth experience for anything and everything you throw it.

Which, from my personal experiences, is anything but. If you're doing simple things, it's wonderful. I can fire up a webpage or get directions almost as fast as a thought. Try and do anything remotely complicated though, and it gets real chunkity real fast. Like have you ever tried doing an image search on Google using an iDevice? Ever try saving, linking, and embedding a picture here from Dropbox on an iDevice? The former is impossible. The later a 10 minute multistage process that's anything but smooth.

Trust me. iOS is hardly perfect. There are some things Android does far, far better. Both have tons of room for improvement.

 

[Bantz]

And so the power of Android continues.

 

[apolloa]

You stated nothing but opinion and "blind devotion" to Android.

Pot meet Kettle.

hmmmm a bit like the MANY posters on this forum then

 

[dec.]

Actually I'm surprised that it took this long, considering that there are many low end Android tabs available for under $100. I think for now it's safe to say that iPads still will receive plenty (if not all) of attention when it comes to third party developers for hard/software and accessories like cases/covers/docks in the closer future.

 

[bernuli]

Tablet market share will continue to fall as apple continues to not dominate the PC market. So maybe not a good idea to take engineers off OS X and put them on iOS?

Time for some new hires!

B

 

[4TheLoveOfTech]

He's speaking from an informed position at least, having used both iOS and Android for an (apparently) extended amount of time.

Most of the time when you see someone bashing Android on here, it's usually "I used Android for 5 minutes and OLOLOL SUK" or "My cousin knows a guy who knows a guy who bought a Galaxy S4 and he took it back 3 days later OLOLOL SUK".

Or they'll speak of the mythical "user experience" that's never explained beyond "oh, you know. It just works. Android doesn't. User experience and all that". As if iOS is a cohesive, smooth experience for anything and everything you throw it.

Which, from my personal experiences, is anything but. If you're doing simple things, it's wonderful. I can fire up a webpage or get directions almost as fast as a thought. Try and do anything remotely complicated though, and it gets real chunkity real fast. Like have you ever tried doing an image search on Google using an iDevice? Ever try saving, linking, and embedding a picture here from Dropbox on an iDevice? The former is impossible. The later a 10 minute multistage process that's anything but smooth.

Trust me. iOS is hardly perfect. There are some things Android does far, far better. Both have tons of room for improvement.

I stated my opinion as someone who has used both extensively as well.
I currently have a Galaxy S3. It doesn't make his statement fact the Android is Better than iOS.

It's nothing but an opinion. My opinion is Android is better than iOS. That doesn't make me right. It means I have opinion based on my user experience. It doesn't mean it's true for everyone or for that matter anyone but me. That's why it's an opinion.

 

[Michael Scrip]

The whole market share thing is not even accurate...need comparisons of market share of similar vendors that carry same phones vs those that don't. Guarantee you it's vastly different.

Agreed.

I would be interested in seeing a specific breakdown of tablets by price. For instance... tablets that cost $329 and above.

People buying $99 Chinese tablets are being counted in Android's numbers... but I really doubt those people were even considering a much more expensive iPad. So is it really a loss for Apple?

Apple's share of the total tablet market fell... but I'm pretty sure Apple still controls the lucrative mid to high-end tablet market.

 

[FightTheFuture]

Everybody knows now that Android phones outsell iPhone b a wide margin. It's only a matter of time before the same happens for tablets. In the mean time enjoy your lunacies

There are NOT 8 million Samsung tablets sitting on the shelves, nor Kindle Fire's or Nexus 7 (the Asus number). Margins are certainly lower than for iPads, but Android tablets are in business now. Welcome to reality!

The sentiment that this flood of Android Tablets on the market as a sign of iPad losing its hold isn't realistic. We know one number - 19.5 million iPads were sold in the first three months of this year. That is a staggering number and it's only rising. If you can't believe from that figure that the iPad is a dominant player then you have to clear the marketshare logic out of your argument.

Remember how many MP3 players were on the market? If you grouped them all into a "non-iPod" category there were millions and they were everywhere, yet the iPod still dominated the buying market and usage share.

Like it or not, the iPad is dominating. 19.5 million in three months.

 

[Karma*Police]

IDC reported WORLDWIDE sales of all Samsung smartphones, the trial reported US sales of SOME smartphones.

Not smartphones, tablets. And they were talking about total tablet sales thoough I do think they broke it down by models as well.

In any case, it made IDC look really bad because they had revealed their tablet share numbers not long before the truth came out in court and I remember Bloomberg talking about the massive discrepancy on the radio.

 

[flottenheimer]

This is how Samsung got a tablet-market share of 8.8 %

Get a Free Galaxy Tab 2 7-Inch Tablet when Purchased with Select Samsung HDTVs

Samsung Smart TV Promotion – Free Galaxy 2 Tablet

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 for free with purchase of Samsung HDTV at Best Buy

Now, would you rather invest in Apple or Samsung?
Are Samsung's shipment numbers in any way indicative of consumer demand?

PS: They are pulling the same trick with many of their phones.

 

[KPOM]

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 a number of companies do not release their exact 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.

Article Link: Apple's Share of Worldwide Tablet Shipments Falls Below 40% in 1Q 2013

Shipped vs. Sold is a bit of a red herring since companies can't stuff the channel forever. That said, what IDC doesn't tell us is how many of the Android tablets are the $99 variety running out-dated versions. Apple doesn't compete in that space. The iPod was the one and so far only product that has maintained more than 50% market share long term, and in product terms the digital music player category was pretty much a flash in the pan (it came, peaked, and largely went within a span of 10 years).

At $329 for the cheapest version, iPad is still an "aspirational" device, so 40% market share is pretty good 3 years on. Plus, "Android" is a bit more fragmented. I don't really consider the Kindle Fire part of the Android platform since Amazon removed most of the Google content. Samsung appears to be headed in this direction, as well. Eventually, those platforms may be as different from Android as French is from Spanish.

 

[Michael Scrip]

And so the power of Android continues.

Or... it's the power of price.

Do you really think there are a bunch of $500+ tablets making up the "Other" category?

Doubt it.

Most likely it's a bunch of cheap tablets that do nothing but add to Android's market share number.

So if market share is your thing... congratulations... this article must be putting a smile on your face.

But I'm still not seeing the results of Android's 60% of the tablet market.

 

[uknowimright]

those Samsung and other Android OEM warehouses must be like that Mary Poppins bag

 

[FirstNTenderbit]

In business no, in public market yes.

Android tablet as almost no share in the enterprise (business) market ...

You mean sort of like Mac? Making my statement just as irrelevant as yours.

 

[carl0sian]

Oh no! The world is coming to an end!!! Android is so much better! Hahahha


This is a meaningless headline

 

[Mike Valmike]

The story here isn't the Samsung tablets -- those were good from the beginning. (I prefer iOS to Android so I have stayed in iPad-land, but I tried the Galaxy Tab and it didn't suck, as a device in its own right.) The story is that you can get an Android slab from any no-name factory for peanuts, and the market is flooded with them. Don't believe me? Go on Deal Extreme or MadeInChina and look it up... hundreds of them, it staggers the mind. I mean they are of such sketchy quality that calling them "bootleg" is giving them too much credit, but by golly, they are "shipped" and I'm sure there are plenty of cheapskates out there buying them.

 

[Renzatic]

I stated my opinion as someone who has used both extensively as well.
I currently have a Galaxy S3. It doesn't make his statement fact the Android is Better than iOS.

It's nothing but an opinion. My opinion is Android is better than iOS. That doesn't make me right. It means I have opinion based on my user experience. It doesn't mean it's true for everyone or for that matter anyone but me. That's why it's an opinion.

To me, it ultimately depends on what you intend on using it for. iOS is great if you like the default apps, and generally use apps standalone. I use my iPad for taking notes and writing up quick documents all the time. As long as the only thing I'm sourcing from is the camera roll, it works beautifully.

But when I start multitasking among a lot of apps, like transferring images out from one app, to the camera roll, and importing it back into another document, then trying to send all the separate components back to my computer via Dropbox to edit later? That's when the user experience starts falling apart.

Android is a little bit better here since it's not as siloed and regimented as iOS, and has an actual file system that can be easily accessed. I don't have to worry about sending all my photos to Photos, or trying to get a Pages document off iCloud without having to email it to myself.

Basically, if you're doing most of your works in single apps, iOS is great. But when you start wanting to use these apps together to produce something bigger, that's when the UX starts showing cracks and stress marks. Android is a little bit better at this simply because it's more freeform and open.

...which is kind of a shame, because iOS still has the best apps of the bunch. It seems you can't have your cake and eat it too when it comes to mobile OSes.