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Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.
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Q3 2012: Apple holds first position but drops to a 50,4% tablet market share.
Worldwide tablet shipments totaled 27.8 million units in the third
quarter of 2012 (3Q12), according to preliminary data from the
International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker.
The tablet market grew 49.5% year over year in 3Q12 and 6.7% over the
second quarter of 2012. Android shipments, led by Samsung and Amazon,
surged during the quarter, at the expense of Apple, which saw its share
slip notably during the quarter.
"After a very strong second quarter, Apple saw growth slow as both
consumer and commercial (including education) shipments declined, and
rumors of a forthcoming iPad mini began to heat up," said Tom Mainelli, research director, Tablets
at IDC.
"We believe a sizeable percentage of consumers interested in
buying an Apple tablet sat out the third quarter in anticipation of an
announcement about the new iPad mini. Now that the new mini, and a
fourth-generation full-sized iPad, are both shipping we expect Apple to
have a very good quarter. However, we believe the mini's relatively high
$329 starting price leaves plenty of room for Android vendors to build
upon the success they achieved in the third quarter."
Apple's slowdown put a sizeable dent in the company's commanding
worldwide market tablet share, which slipped from 65.5% in 2Q12 to 50.4%
in 3Q12. The remaining top five tablet vendors all gained share during
the quarter as a result. Most notable was the impressive quarter turned
out by Samsung—driven by its ever-growing portfolio of tablets. Samsung
shipped 5.1 million tablets worldwide in 3Q12, up 115.0% from 2Q12;
that's an increase of 325.0% from 3Q11, when it shipped 1.2 million
tablets.
The top 5 was rounded out by Amazon, ASUS, and Lenovo; with all
three vendors experiencing sequential growth over 2Q12 while Lenovo and
ASUS also saw solid year-over-year growth. Amazon, which did not have
product in 3Q11, announced new 7-inch and 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD
tablets late in the quarter, and began shipping the new 7-inch HD
version (in addition to a refreshed version of the original 7-inch Fire)
in mid-September.
This helped grow its worldwide market share from 4.8%
in 2Q12 to 9.0% in 3Q12, despite only shipping in the U.S. (the company
began shipping into five additional countries in 4Q12). ASUS' share
growth was backed by strong shipments of its Google-branded Nexus 7
device; Lenovo's gains were driven by strong shipments in China.
"Samsung took advantage of an opportunity in the second quarter," said Ryan Reith, program manager, IDC's Mobile Device Trackers.
"The company offers a wide range of tablet offerings across multiple
screen sizes and colors, and that clearly resonated with more buyers
this quarter. Its growth to 18.4% of worldwide market share during the
quarter represents the first time a competitor has attained this level
of share since the original launch of the iPad."
"Competitors are turning up the pressure on market leader Apple,"
Reith added. "With the recent introduction of a number of Windows 8 and
Windows RT tablets, consumers now have a third viable tablet platform
from which to choose. However, price points are critical in tablets, and
Microsoft and its partners will have a tough time winning a share of
consumer wallet with price points starting at $500."
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