Small Android Tablet Market goes through the roof as iPad falters

hodg100

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But don't cry for Cupertino

As we all know, the tablet market is booming and over 34 million tablets shipped in the second quarter of 2013, which represents a 43% year-on-year increase.

Tablets now account for 31% of worldwide PC shipments but Apple has lost marketshare to the raft of Android tablets hitting the market, with iPad's now accounting for 43% of the the total tablet market. That's still a very impressive number for Cupertino when you consider they have essentially 2 products against hundreds of Android slates.

The chasing pack of Samsung, Amazon, Lenovo and Acer each grew annually by over 200%, driven by increasing demand for small-screen tablets. Canalys, who conducted the research, estimates that 68% of tablets shipped in Q2 had a screen size smaller than 9".

"Consumers have been evaluating tablets and the results are now in," said Tim Coulling, Canalys Senior Analyst. @With touch-screens contributing to a high proportion of the build cost of a tablet, small-screen products can be priced very aggressively."

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Apple’s decline in shipments and share has been partly attributed to its aging portfolio. But Canalys believes that new product launches will have less impact on its shipments in future. "When Apple does decide to refresh its iPad range it will not experience the buzz of previous launches," said Canalys Analyst James Wang.

"Tablets are now mainstream products and hardware innovation is increasingly difficult. With branded Android tablets available for less than $150, the PC market has never been so good for consumers, who are voting with their wallets."

The market for full-sized tablets has stalled and even Apple has found it harder to sell its larger iPads in recent quarters, says Canalys.

Despite its 53% share, Android still lags far behind iOS in the availability of fully-optimized tablet apps, and tablet app downloads from the Apple App Store dwarf those from Google Play. But Android is expected to continue to close the ecosystem lead iOS has in tablets and increase share in coming quarters.

While it is true that Apple is losing its stranglehold on the tablet market in terms of volume, it will remain its most profitable vendor for years to come. Apple has already faced a similar battle in the smart phone market, and it now looks increasingly likely that it is readying a cheaper iPhone.

If this is indeed the case, Apple could replicate a similar tactic in the tablet market. It will be in no rush – after all, the launch of the iPad mini was designed to address this segment. But its hand could be forced if competitors’ prices continue to plummet.

Source: Canalys
 

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