In Q2 2013 Apple continues to ship more tablets than any other vendor, but Samsung is quickly eating into its market share. New data from the IDC shows that Samsung’s tablet sales are increasing at a rapid pace while its Cupertino-based counterpart has shown negative growth in terms of iPad sales.
Worldwide tablet sales generally slowed during Q2 2013 compared to the previous quarter, but the 45.1 million units shipped this year marks an increase of 59.6 percent from the 28.3 million sold in Q2 2012. While the tablet market has seen sluggish sales this quarter, Samsung slate sales have grown by a massive 277 percent year-over-year. This marks the highest growth of any tablet vendor besides Lenovo, which grew by 313.9 percent annually.
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Apple's iPad sales only accounted for 32.4 percent of the tablet market during Q2 2013, which is a staggering decline from the 60.3 percent it claimed during the same period last year. Samsung, meanwhile, owns 18 percent of the market which is up from the 7.6 percent it claimed in 2012.
The IDC speculates that Apple’s lull is likely the result of its lack of a product announcement in Q2 2013. Historically, Apple has unveiled new iPads in March, but the company hasn’t unveiled a new tablet since the fourth-generation iPad and iPad mini debuted near the end of 2012.
“A new iPad launch always piques consumer interest in the tablet category and traditionally that has helped Apple and its competitors,” Tom Mainelli, research director for tablets at the IDC, said in a written statement.
The IDC’s report follows similar statistics published by Strategy Analytics last week revealing that Android is dominating the tablet market with 67 percent market share. We’ll have to wait until the fall to see if Apple regains some of that share with its next-generation iPad, which is rumored to come with thinner side bezels and an improved Retina display that will use Sharp’s IGZO technology.
