Following its mobile phone report earlier this week, research firm IDC has published its estimates of tablet shipments for the fourth quarter of 2013, showing that Apple continues to lead the market with roughly one-third of all shipments.
Worldwide tablet shipments in 4Q13 in millions of units (Source: IDC)
Apple's share of the market has generally declined over the past two years amid the proliferation of low-cost Android tablets, particularly unbranded "whitebox" devices in the Chinese market. The holiday quarter with refreshed iPads did, however, allow Apple to raise its share of the market to 33.8 percent from 29.7 percent in the previous quarter.
Apple once again led the worldwide market for tablets, shipping 26 million units during the quarter, up from 14.1 million the previous quarter and 22.9 million in 4Q12. While the quarter represented the company's most successful on record, its year-over-year growth of 13.5% was well below the industry average. The numbers bring into focus the challenges the company faces as it attempts to grow its tablet business in markets outside of its traditional mature-market strongholds and in the face of continued success from competitors both large and small.
Apple saw its worldwide tablet market share for the quarter grow to 33.8%, up from 29.7% in the third quarter but down from its 38.2% share in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Apple's iPad shipments (red) and share of worldwide tablet shipments (blue) for 2Q11–4Q13 (Source: IDC)
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.
Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed.
French blog Consomac also reported on this topic.
The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black.
Images Credit: Consoma ...
Thursday September 18, 2025 9:17 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions.
The update will have a build number of 23A350, or similar, the account said.
It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's Henry T. ...
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While the iPhone Air is equipped with Apple's custom C1X modem for cellular connectivity, all of the iPhone 17 models are outfitted with Qualcomm modems still.
A teardown video shared on Chinese platform Bilibili today (via Reddit) appears to confirm the iPhone 17 Pro Max is equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X80 modem in particular. The same modem is likely used in the iPhone 17 and iPhone ...
Apple's new iPhones launch today, and there are plenty of options to choose from when it comes to protecting your new device from drops and scratches. In this article, we're taking a look at some of the best options for iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Air cases, as well as a few charging accessories.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
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It's been two days since iOS 26 was released, and Apple's new Liquid Glass design is even more divisive than expected.
Any major design change can create controversy as people get used to the new look, but the MacRumors forums, Reddit, Apple Support Communities, and social media sites seem to feature more criticism than praise as people discuss the update.
Complaints
There are a long...
Friday September 19, 2025 8:39 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
YouTube channel REWA Technology today shared an iPhone 17 Pro teardown video, offering a closer look inside the model with a SIM card tray.
We are still waiting for repair website iFixit to share a more comprehensive teardown of the latest iPhone models, but this video provides a good look in the meantime.
The device features various internal design changes, including larger rear camera...
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. (http://www.idownloadblog.com/2014/01/02/best-buy-iphone-5s-125usd-iphone-5c-free/)
Or here. (http://venturebeat.com/2013/09/16/want-a-new-iphone-5s-or-32gb-5c-for-free-sprint-may-have-an-offer-you-cant-refuse/)
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...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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Samsung starting to kick some butt in the tablet market! 85%!? Damn
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. :)
Not to say they don't have a good solution, but there was tons of promotions going on over the holidays that put a these in customers hands at a low to no cost. I wonder how much money they actually made in this segment?
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.
