post Tuesday December 4, 2012
Apple is known as the dominant force on the tablet market since it launched its first iPad. However, it seems that history is about to change. According to a recently published report by International Data Corp., Apple has lost market share to its competitors. Apple’s shipments decreased in the last quarter and they were significantly smaller than in September of previous years, when they were actually rising. Apple’s market share is still considerably high, reaching 50.4%. However, it dropped approximately 15% since the second quarter. The numbers are also lower than in last year’s third quarter, when they reached 59.7%.
The research director at IDC stated that a possible explanation for the drop in Apple’s shipments is due to careful consideration on the customer’s side, who most probably decided to wait with shopping until announcements about the new iPad mini.
Despite the fact that the iPad Mini sold out on launch day, the losses mentioned previously point to the fact that lower priced competitors are rising. Samsung, increased from a 9% share in the second quarter to 18.4 % in the third quarter after releasing its Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet in August. Another potential threat is Amazon, which increased from 5 % to 9 % after releasing its newest tablet, the Kindle Fire HD, late in the quarter.Additionally, Microsoft’s new Surface is also aiming to grasp a bite of the market share.
History might repeat itself, since Google’s Android took over iPhone’s dominance in smartphones. The competitors in the tablet market are slowly rising and they represent a serious danger to Apple’s market share. However, according to IDC’s analysis Android still has a long way to go before it reaches dominance similar to one which it has in the smartphone industry.
Sources: Los Angeles Times
Image source: Free Digital Photos
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