Tablet sales continue to fall, Windows is coming

Tuesday, 2 August 2016, 5:27 pm
Article: Digitl

There's no clear end in sight to falling tablet sales. IDC's latest tablet quarterly report shows shipments fell over 12 percent year-on-year. This is the seventh quarter in a row shipments have declined.

This is the seventh quarter in a row shipments have declined.

Tablet sales for the second quarter of 2016 were 38.7 million units compared with 44.1 million in the same period a year earlier. IDC's figures include slates and detachable devices.

Apple, Samsung down

Apple and Samsung showed the biggest decline. Yet they stay first and second in the market. The pair are a long way ahead of the next place company: Lenovo.

Samsung's market share fell from 18.2 percent to 15.6 percent. Apple managed to edge up to a market share of 25.8 percent. It shipped 10 million tablets during the quarter, Samsung shipped six million.

Lenovo's market share held steady with a small, three percent increase in units shipped. Huawei leapt forward with a 71 percent increase in shipments, but remains small compared to the two leaders on a 5.6 percent market share.

Amazon's numbers look great, 1200 percent growth, but IDC says that's partly because it didn't include the company's six-inch tablets in the earlier survey.

Android dominates but stalling

Android still dominates in terms of operating system. It accounts for 65 percent of the total. Apple's iOS has a 26 percent share. Windows makes the rest.

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IDC says a change could be on the way as fewer brands now sell Android tablets and some of those who have in the past now offer more Windows devices.

Jitesh Ubrani, IDC's senior research analyst says Android is finding it difficult to compete at the moment, but a new version of the OS is on the way with better multi-tasking support. So that could change.

Windows got off to a poor start with tablets. The first Windows tablets from companies like HP and Dell were disappointing. That's changed with Windows 10, there's some evidence Windows tablets are picking up momentum with corporate customers, mainly but not exclusively at Android's expense.

Top Five Tablet Vendors, Shipments, Market Share, and Growth, Second Quarter 2016 (Preliminary Results, Shipments in millions)
Vendor	2Q16 Unit Shipments	2Q16 Market Share	2Q15 Unit Shipments	2Q15 Market Share	Year-Over-Year Growth
1. Apple	10.0	25.8%	11.0	24.9%	-9.2%
2. Samsung	6.0	15.6%	8.0	18.2%	-24.5%
3. Lenovo	2.5	6.6%	2.5	5.6%	3.1%
4. Huawei	2.2	5.6%	1.3	2.9%	71.0%
5. Amazon	1.6	4.0%	0.1	0.3%	1208.9%
Others	16.4	42.4%	21.3	48.2%	-22.9%
Total	38.7	100.0%	44.1	100.0%	-12.3%
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, August 1, 2016

Tablet sales continue to fall, Windows is coming was first posted at billbennett.co.nz.

Bill Bennett

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Auckland-based Bill Bennett writes technology and business stories that are directly relevant to New Zealand readers.

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