The latest data from research firms IDC and Strategy Analytics reveals that iPad market share declined for the ninth consecutive quarter as the worldwide tablet market continues to slow. Apple now has between 22.1 and 25.9-percent market share among tablet vendors, down from between 24.3 and 27.2-percent in the year-ago quarter.

iPad-shipments-IDC-Q1-2016
Apple reported iPad sales of 10.3 million during the March quarter earlier this week, compared to 12.62 million in the year-ago quarter. IDC and Strategy Analytics data shows Samsung trailing in second with 6 to 6.5 million tablets shipped, amounting to 14.0 to 15.2-percent market share during the first three months of 2016.

IDC data shows that Amazon experienced explosive 5421.7-percent year-over-year growth, with its market share rising from just 0.1-percent to 5.7-percent on the strength of new low-cost Fire tablets. The research firm noted that it did not count the Fire HD 6 in its Q1 2015 numbers. Strategy Analytics did not share Amazon data.

Lenovo and Huawei rounded out the top five in both datasets, with both vendors having shipped between 2.1 and 2.2 million tablets during the quarter. Their respective market shares ranged between 4.5-percent and 5.5-percent, amounting to only a slight variation between the IDC and Strategy Analytics data.

Strategy Analytics Tablets 2016
Global tablet shipments reached between 39.6 and 46.5 million during the quarter, the latter of which is the lowest total since the third quarter of 2012, according to Strategy Analytics. Nevertheless, IDC noted that convertible 2-in-1 tablets continue to experience growth, with quarterly shipments totaling 4.9 million.

"Microsoft arguably created the market for detachable tablets with the launch of their Surface line of products," said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers. "With the PC industry in decline, the detachable market stands to benefit as consumers and enterprises seek to replace their aging PCs with detachables.

Apple's recent foray into this segment has garnered them an impressive lead in the short term, although continued long-term success may prove challenging as a higher entry price point staves off consumers and iOS has yet to prove its enterprise-readiness, leaving plenty of room for Microsoft and their hardware partners to reestablish themselves."

IDC and Strategy Analytics shared smartphone and smartwatch data earlier this week.

Top Rated Comments

bushido Avatar
118 months ago
Tim Cook has repeatedly claimed that there is plenty of innovation to be had in iPad, and yet we've seen none of it.
what are you talking about. you can put more apps on a single page inside a folder now. if that isnt innovative
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacDevil7334 Avatar
118 months ago
Until the latest iPad does something appreciably different or better than an older model or a competitor, people aren't going to upgrade. My folks have an iPad 2 they got in 2011. Yes, it's slower and heavier than my Air 2, but it still does all the same things (web, email, movies, etc). The pencil support in the latest iPads might change things for some people. But the high starting price for the 12.9" version and the $100 price increase for the 9.7" version is going to deter a lot of people (myself included).

At the end of the day, Apple's iPad is being handicapped by its own superb hardware coupled with its utter lack of innovation in software, meaning there isn't much incentive to upgrade. Newer iPads don't really do anything new, only faster. The new strategy of increasing prices on everything from cases to the iPads themselves is only going to hurt sales more (as it rightly should). I guess Apple has decided they're better off trying to wring as much money out of the few people who are buying new iPads rather than innovating to drive more people to buy the product. Not a good strategy long term.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Soba Avatar
118 months ago
Tim Cook has repeatedly claimed that there is plenty of innovation to be had in iPad, and yet we've seen none of it.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cdmoore74 Avatar
118 months ago
Apple doesn't know what their doing. They take a product that's continues to downward spiral and they have the nerve to increase the base cost by $100 for the 9.7" just because they added the word pro to the end of the name. What a bunch of idiots!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zhenya Avatar
118 months ago
Hard to beat a full desktop OS running on a tablet which Microsoft and Linux has done.
I don't know what table you are looking at, but the data presented here in this article shows that Microsoft is pretty much dead in the water for tablets.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
npmacuser5 Avatar
118 months ago
Customer technology overload. Once upon a time we had a cool smart phone, a computer and we were happy campers. Now, cool smart phone, smart watch, tablet, streaming TV, computer, home automation, streaming speakers and home theater systems, all at some point upgrades are needed. The result, upgrades to new technology will slow unless one has very deep pockets.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Mayday Calendar

Apple Acquisition Hints at Upgraded Calendar App on iOS 19 or Beyond

Friday May 9, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple acquired Canadian startup Mayday Labs in April 2024, according to a European Commission listing, spotted by French blog MacGeneration. The acquisition had not received widespread attention from tech publications until now. Apple is legally required to report certain acquisitions to the European Commission, under the terms of the EU's Digital Markets Act. Mayday Labs founder Jeremy...
Nineth iOS 19 Feature

iOS 19 Beta is a Month Away With These New Features for Your iPhone

Thursday May 8, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is just one month away, and there are already many new features and changes that are expected with it. Apple should seed the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors...
fortnite apple featured

Epic Games Submits Fortnite to U.S. App Store

Friday May 9, 2025 9:57 am PDT by
As promised, Epic Games today submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store, and if approved by Apple, it will mark the first time that the Fortnite app has been available in the United States since 2020. Fortnite will include options to purchase in-app currency from the web rather than through in-app purchase, which is what got the game banned to begin with. This time, though, Apple has been...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full iOS 18.5 Release Notes

Tuesday May 6, 2025 2:17 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.5 to developers and public beta testers, giving us a look at the final version of the update that will be provided to the public next week. With the release candidate, Apple provided release notes, so we have a more complete look at the new features that are included in the update, including those that weren't found during the beta...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
top stories 2025 05 10

Top Stories: iOS 18.5 Release Imminent, iPhone Rumors for 2025 and Beyond, and More

Saturday May 10, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
With Apple's developer conference where it will show off iOS 19 just a month away, the company is wrapping up work on iOS 18.5 ahead of an imminent release to deliver a few new features and updates. This week also saw a number of iPhone-related rumors, encompassing not only this year's iPhone 17 lineup but also Apple's plans for 2026 and 2027, even as Apple's Eddy Cue suggested AI could make ...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Apple's Foldable iPhone Display Tech May Set New Industry Standard

Thursday May 8, 2025 3:29 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone will feature a new type of display panel developed by Samsung that has never been used in a foldable product, claims a source with links to Apple's supply chain. According to the account yeux1122 on the Korean Naver blog, the foldable iPhone will use a custom display process for which Apple will hold branding trademark rights, and that meets Apple's stringent ...