Apple Keeps Lead in Slumping Tablet Market, Say IDC and Strategy Analytics

Apple Keeps Lead in Slumping Tablet Market, Say IDC and Strategy Analytics
Highlights
  • Tablet sales fell 20 percent from a year earlier to 52.9 million units
  • Apple reported it sold 13.1 million of its iPads in the fourth quarter
  • Samsung was the number-two vendor with more than 8 million tablets sold
Advertisement

Apple remains the leader in a global tablet computer market that has been in an extended slump for the past two years, according to surveys released Thursday.

Tablet sales in the fourth quarter fell 20 percent from a year earlier to 52.9 million units, according to the research firm IDC. A separate survey by Strategy Analytics said sales slumped nine percent to 63.5 million.

IDC analysts said overall 2016 sales fell 15.6 percent to 178.4 million units, in a second consecutive annual decline following a period of sizzling growth.

The analysts said many consumers are moving away from the "slate" tablets to more versatile devices with detachable keyboards, which may be categorised as either tablets or PCs.

"The sentiment around the tablet market continues to grow stale despite a lot of talk about vendors pivoting their product portfolios toward the detachable segment," IDC's Ryan Reith said.

"Typical tablets without a dedicated keyboard, which IDC refers to as slate tablets, are continuing to lose relevancy across all regions and, as a result, we see the decline happening globally."

Apple this week reported it sold 13.1 million of its iPads in the fourth quarter, a drop of nearly 19 percent from a year ago, but enough to lead the category.

According to IDC, Apple and the iPad held 24.7 percent of the market, while Strategy Analytics estimated its market share at 20.6 percent.

Samsung was the number-two vendor with more than eight million tablets sold.

IDC estimated Amazon sold 5.2 million of its Fire tablets to lift its market share to nearly 10 percent. But Strategy Analytics figures show Amazon selling 4.2 million units for a 6.7 percent share.

Amazon does not disclose sales figures for its devices.

Strategy Analytics said in its report that Amazon's low-cost devices, which sell for as little as $49, have had some success "reaching a broad range of consumers looking for an entertainment tablet with key content tie-ins to the growing Amazon ecosystem."

The other manufacturers in the top five were China-based Lenovo and Huawei, according to the surveys.

Sales of Windows-powered tablets grew 19 percent from a year ago and accounted for 16 percent of the market, according to Strategy Analytics.

Strategy Analytics analyst Eric Smith said Microsoft, with its Surface family of devices, is the largest vendor in the Windows segment with about 15 percent, but that its partners - including Lenovo, Asus, Dell, and HP - sell the majority of Windows tablets.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Apple, Tablets, iPads, Samsung, Lenovo, HP, Dell, IDC
Snap Files for $3 Billion IPO, Reveals Snapchat Has 158 Million Daily Active Users
Trump Immigration Order: Microsoft Bats for Exception Program
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »