Apple Maintains Tablet Market Share Lead Despite iPad Sales Drop

Apple's recent earnings call revealed that iPad sales continue to decline, with the company shipping only 13.3 million iPads during the third fiscal quarter of 2014 (second calendar quarter), compared to 14.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

Despite the sales drop, Apple continues to be the world's leading tablet vendor, with a total 26.9 percent of the market, according to new numbers from research firm IDC. Samsung retains its number two spot with 8.5 million shipments and a 17.2 percent share, but both major companies have been losing significant ground to companies putting out more affordable tablet devices.

idctablets1

Worldwide tablet shipments in 2Q14 in millions of units (Source: IDC)

Lenovo, for example, saw its share of the tablet market rise from 3.3 percent to 4.9 percent, a 64.7 percent jump. ASUS saw 13.1 percent growth, and the "Others" category, which is comprised of vendors not quite in the top five list, has jumped from a 37 percent share to a 44.4 percent share, an increase of 33.4 percent.

Overall, the worldwide tablet market has grown 11 percent year-over-year, with total tablet shipments of 49.3 million, up from 44.4 million in 2013.

idctablets2

Apple's iPad shipments (red) and share of worldwide tablet shipments (blue) for 2Q11–2Q14 (Source: IDC)

As we indicated last quarter, the market is still being impacted by the rise of large-screen smartphones and longer than anticipated ownership cycles," said Jean Philippe Bouchard, IDC Research Director for Tablets. "We can also attribute the market deceleration to slow commercial adoption of tablets. Despite this trend, we believe that stronger commercial demand for tablets in the second half of 2014 will help the market grow and that we will see more enterprise-specific offerings, as illustrated by the Apple and IBM partnership, come to market."

To date, Apple has sold 225 million iPads and according to Tim Cook, the company isn't worried about declining sales. Cook noted the tablet category is still "in its infancy," and Apple is planning to bring "significant innovation" to the iPad in the future.

iPad sales will likely pick up later this year with the introduction of a second-generation iPad Air and a second-generation Retina iPad mini. Both tablets are expected to include upgraded processors and Touch ID integration. Apple is also expanding its presence in the enterprise tablet market with a new partnership with IBM.

Top Rated Comments

farewelwilliams Avatar
120 months ago
Samsung finally confesses "we accidentally copied Apple's sales drop. sorry about that guys"
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
diddl14 Avatar
120 months ago
umm Others has 37% of the market, I wouldn't say Apple is leading.

I googled it, there is no "Others Inc." must be a typo..
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kdarling Avatar
120 months ago
In before "Apple reports sold, Samsung (and others) report shipped".
For their press releases, Apple quotes quantity shipped.

Samsung doesn't usually report quantity at all, except when they hit major marks.

These numbers do not represent a decline in "sales." They represent an increase in sales, but a decline in the growth of sales. Please get the journalism right. Thx.
The article clearly points out that it was a decline in sales YoY.

"(Apple) shipping only 13.3 million iPads (...), compared to 14.6 million in the year-ago quarter."

Part of the fallout of the Apple/Samsung trial included the real number of tablets Samsung sold, not the numbers they reported to IDC. (Which IDC lapped up.)
1. Samsung doesn't report to IDC. IDC does their own research.

2. The trial numbers were for US sales only, which were a fraction of the world sales Samsung had reported. Sloppy bloggers mixed them up.

3. Apple themselves quote IDC all the time. In fact, just the other day during the last earnings call, Tim Cook quoted IDC:

"iPad sales met our expectations but we realized they didn’t meet many of yours.

"Our sales were gated in-part by a reduction in channel inventory and in-part by market softness in certain parts of the world.

"For example IDC’s latest estimate indicates a 5% overall decline in the U.S. tablet market, as well as a decline in the Western European tablet market in the June quarter."

- Tim Cook F3Q 2014 call
Basically he gave the same reasons for lower sales that Samsung had recently mentioned, except one half of Samsung's revenue drop was solely due to stronger Korean currency, so the exchange rate made their revenue amount look smaller.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iolinux333 Avatar
120 months ago
With the new Galaxy tab s things may get even worse for IPad.As amoled screen is zilion times superior over Ipad's.:(

Are you serious? After a year they fade, turn yellow, and burn in all over the place.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
elgrecomac Avatar
120 months ago
I know of no one who owns an Android pad

If I take into account all of my friends, family, business associates I know of no one, zero, zilch, nada who own an android based pad. Phones, yes, pads, no.

So who in the hell own those POS?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hastings101 Avatar
120 months ago
I googled it, there is no "Others Inc." must be a typo..

MacRumors really needs to do something about their fact checking process. This place is going to the dogs
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Mock Header With Dynamic Island

Skipping the iPhone 15 Pro? Here's What's Rumored for iPhone 16 Pro

Friday September 22, 2023 9:29 am PDT by
Are you skipping the iPhone 15 Pro and waiting another year to upgrade? If so, we already have some iPhone 16 Pro rumors for you. Below, we recap new features rumored for the iPhone 16 Pro models so far:Larger displays: The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped with larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, respectively, according to Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain...
Update Your iPhone 15 to iOS 17

Warning: Update Your iPhone 15 to iOS 17.0.2 Before Transferring Data From Another iPhone

Friday September 22, 2023 6:36 am PDT by
If you are unboxing an iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max today, make sure to update the device to iOS 17.0.2 before transferring data to the device from another iPhone, or else you might encounter issues. iOS 17.0.2 is only available for the iPhone 15 lineup. Apple says the update fixes an issue that may prevent transferring data directly from another iPhone...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 With Bug Fixes, Plus iOS 17.0.2 for iPhone 15 Models

Thursday September 21, 2023 10:28 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates for the iPhone and the iPad, adding bug fixes to the new software. The iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates come just a few days after Apple launched iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. The software, which is build 21A340, can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There is a...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 double tap gesture 230912

watchOS 10.1 to Enable Apple Watch's New 'Double Tap' Gesture

Thursday September 21, 2023 12:52 pm PDT by
The new Double Tap gesture for the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 will be enabled starting with watchOS 10.1, according to Marques Brownlee, host of the popular tech-focused YouTube channel MKBHD. The first beta of watchOS 10.1 will likely be available by next week, and Apple announced that the software update will be released next month. Brownlee shared his impressions...