Research firm IDC today released the results of its study of worldwide tablet and eReader shipments for the second quarter of 2011, and while the tablet market has changed dramatically in the nearly three months since the quarter ended, the data still offers an interesting look at Apple's performance in the market. According to the study, Apple rode the strength of the iPad 2 launch to capture over 68% of total worldwide tablet shipments for the quarter, up from 65% in the previous quarter.
Worldwide media tablet shipments in the second quarter were driven by continued robust demand for Apple's iPad 2, which saw shipments reach 9.3 million units, representing a 68.3% share of the worldwide market (up from 65.7% the previous quarter). Research in Motion entered the media tablet market in 2Q11 with its PlayBook product, grabbing a 4.9% share of the market. Apple's strength and RIM's entrance meant bad news for Android-based media tablets, which saw its collective share slip to 26.8%, down from 34.0% the previous quarter.
IDC predicts that Android's share will continue to shrink during the third quarter due to continued iPad strength and a flood of $99 sales of HP's discontinued TouchPad, but that Android will begin to regain share during the fourth quarter of the year as new models come to market.
"Apple's iOS share will continue to lead by more than 40 percentage points over Google's Android for the remainder of the year, but we expect Apple's share to fall closer to 50% by the end of the forecast period as manufacturers bring new tablets to market," said Jennifer Song, research analyst, Worldwide Trackers.
It is important to note that IDC's studies track shipments from manufacturers into their distribution channels, and by most accounts Apple's lead is even stronger when looking at sales to end users. Whereas Apple has repeatedly said that it is selling essentially every iPad it can make, a number of other vendors have seen their shipments into the channel languish amid low consumer demand.
Still, IDC is impressed by the total tablet shipments seen for the second quarter, which saw 88.9% growth over the previous quarter and 303% year-over-year growth. As a result, IDC has boosted its estimates for 2011 from 53.5 million units to 62.5 million units overall.
Wednesday May 28, 2025 11:56 am PDT by Juli Clover
With the design overhaul that's coming this year, Apple plans to rename all of its operating systems, reports Bloomberg. Going forward, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and visionOS will be identified by year, rather than by version number. We're not going to be getting iOS 19, we're getting iOS 26.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
iOS 26 will be accompanied by...
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of May 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X ...
Sony today provided a closer look at the iPhone rigs used to shoot the upcoming post-apocalyptic British horror movie "28 Years Later" (via IGN).
With a budget of $75 million, Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later will become the first major blockbuster movie to be shot on iPhone. 28 Years Later is the sequel to "28 Days Later" (2002) and "28 Weeks Later" (2007), which depict the aftermath of a...
Apple's iPhone 17 lineup will include four iPhones, and two of those are going to get all-new display sizes. There's the iPhone 17 Air, which we've heard about several times, but the standard iPhone 17 is also going to have a different display size.
We've heard a bit about the updated size before, but with most rumors focusing on the iPhone 17 Air, it's easy to forget. Display analyst Ross...
The next major version of macOS, now dubbed "macOS 26," is rumored to drop support for several older Intel-based Mac models currently compatible with macOS Sequoia.
According to individuals familiar with the matter cited by AppleInsider, the following Macs will not be supported by the next version of macOS:
MacBook Pro (2018)
iMac (2019)
iMac Pro (2017)
Mac mini (2018)
MacB...
With the next-generation version of iOS and other 2025 software updates, Apple is planning to change its numbering scheme. Rather than iOS 19, which would logically follow iOS 18, Apple is instead going to call the update iOS 26. Apple plans to use 26 across all of its platforms (the number representing the upcoming year), which will presumably be less confusing than having iOS 19, macOS 16,...
With iOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, and watchOS 26, Apple is planning to debut a new design that's been described as taking inspiration from visionOS, the newest operating system. With WWDC coming up soon, we thought we'd take a closer look at visionOS and some of the design details that Apple might adopt based on current rumors and leaked information.
1. Translucency
Inside Apple, the iOS 26...
The latest rumored specs for the iPhone 17 base model are underwhelming.
In a research note with equity research firm GF Securities this month, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said that the lowest-end iPhone 17 model will be equipped with the same A18 chip that is used in the iPhone 16 base model. The chip will continue to be manufactured with TSMC's second-generation 3nm process, known as N3E, he...
Most iPad wannabe are not sold but stuffed in retailer inventory channel.
Quoted for truth. every one of that 68% is sold. How many of the remaining 32% actually ends up as sales to end users? And how many of that 32% is sold at a heavily discounted at a loss just to get rid of the dead stock?
And the other 32% includes - Unsold units shipped but gathering dust on store shelves - HP Touchpads sold at below manufacturing cost - $100 Chinese knockoffs sold at Walgreens
As someone who flies a lot, I have to say that my personal experience suggests that shipped numbers have virtually 0% reflection of sold numbers.
Monday, I did an informal glance around my red-eye flight. 12 iPads, 8 laptops, countless phones and kindles. Not a single GalaxyTab, TouchPad, Xoom, or also-ran/Chinese knockoff.
In the last dozen flights I've been on, I could count on one hand (but I'd only need half my thumb and index finger) the number of non-iPad tablets I've seen.
I'm not arguing the quality of these products. I've held them. I've played with them. They aren't worthless, they just aren't as polished or supported.
Exactly!!!
I live in H.K, the land of gadgets, and If you look, you'll see millions of iPads in daily use, but you'd be hard pressed to see any android/webos.
Research firm IDC today released the results of its study of worldwide tablet and eReader shipments for the second quarter of 2011, and while the tablet market has changed dramatically in the nearly three months since the quarter ended, the data still offers an interesting look at Apple's performance in the market. According to the study, Apple rode the strength of the iPad 2 launch to capture over 68% of total worldwide tablet shipments for the quarter, up from 65% in the previous quarter.
