In recent weeks, the news has presented numerous conflicting headlines about who is winning the tablet war.
Although iPad shipments have declined in the last year – as Android tablets recorded huge gains – the latest data from IDC shows Apple is still in command of the tablet market.
As of the most recent information available, Apple remains the largest tablet maker, accounting for 32.4% of shipments in the second quarter of 2013. While that’s well below the 60.3% share the company held in the same quarter a year ago, it’s not all bad news for Apple out there.
“A new iPad launch always piques consumer interest in the tablet category and traditionally that has helped both Apple and its competitors,” says Tom Mainelli, the research director for tablets at IDC. “With no new iPads, the market slowed for many vendors, and that’s likely to continue into the third quarter. However, by the fourth quarter we expect new products from Apple, Amazon, and others to drive impressive growth in the market.”
The tablet market is still evolving, the IDC reminds us, and vendors can soar or sink quickly as a result.
IDC’s Mobility Tracker program, Ryan Reith, says that, Apple aside, the remaining vendors “are still very much figuring out which platform strategy will be successful over the long run. To date, Android has been far more successful than the Windows 8 platform. However, Microsoft-fueled products are starting to make notable progress into the market.”
