New research from Strategy Analytics isn’t painting an entirely promising picture for Samsung and Apple, the top two titans in the smartphone and tablet hardware business.
According to data shared with MMW, global tablet shipments reached 52.4 million units in the second quarter of 2014. Tablet shipments from both Apple and Samsung were down on Q2 2013 volumes.
Second quarter 2014 Global Tablet shipments were up 5% at 52.4 million units, with Asus and Lenovo the only top 5 ranked vendors delivering shipment growth over Q2 2013.
But not to worry. The good news is that Samsung and Apple maintain a firm grip on the tablet market, where their combined shipments accounted for 41% of the global market in Q2 2014.
“The lack of new models from Apple clearly hurt the company’s shipments, but we expect new products in the fourth quarter to reinvigorate shipments,” says Peter King, Director of Tablets at Strategy Analytics. “While Samsung had a noteworthy quarter in Q1 2014, we suspect high inventory levels resulted in the fall in shipments in the second quarter. We expect both Apple and Samsung to have a stronger second half year with Q4 particularly strong due to new models and year-end seasonal promotion.”
“Lenovo continues to build momentum with its PC+ strategy (that is smartphones and tablets), for now Lenovo continues to outperform the market, but it needs to watch Asus who are fighting hard to gain 3rd place in the Tablet rankings,” King added.
