Apple and Samsung – the world’s two largest tablet vendors – aren’t dominating the global tablet market to the degree they are for smartphones. Apple and Samsung’s combined tablet market share dropped to 43 percent in 2014 while growth in shipment volume slowed to 6.6 percent, according to the latest market research from Strategy Analytics.
While growth in shipments of Apple and Samsung tablets will continue at their current pace, the world’s two leading tablet manufacturers need to add momentum to their tablet product lines in the face of competition on price and in new form factors from smaller market participants, according to Strategy Analytics’ “Global Tablet Vendor & OS, Unit & Value Market Share by Region: Q4 2014” and “Q1 2015: Tablet Shipments, Installed Base and Penetration Forecast by Country 2010-2019.”
Apple-Samsung Tablet Market Share
Growth in Apple tablet shipments fell 15 percent year-over-year in 2014, while Samsung shipments declined 1 percent. Apple shipped 63.4 million tablets last year, for a 2014 market share of 26.1 percent. Samsung shipped 41.4 million tablets for a market share of 17.1 percent.
The third largest tablet vendor, Lenovo boosted its share of the global tablet market by 1.1 percentage points in 2014 to 5 percent with the launch of “innovative form factor designs,” Strategy Analytics highlights.
Likewise, “white-box” tablet vendors are realizing market share gains. Their share of the worldwide tablet market rose to 29 percent last year, up from 24 percent in 2013. Introduction of entry-level and “ultra-low priced” tablets fueled the gains, Strategy Analytics says.
All that said, Strategy Analytics expects Apple to hold its place as the world’s top tablet vendor “for the foreseeable future.” Growth will be “muted as consumers take longer to replace these premium tier tablets,” however.
Ranking third, Lenovo shipped 11.5 million tablets in 2014 for a 4.7 percent share of the market. That’s up 41 percent from 2013.
Ranking fifth and sixth, respectively, Asus’s and Amazon’s share of worldwide tablet shipments fell in 2014. Asus shipped 11 million tablets last year for a market share of 4.5 percent, down 9 percent year-over-year. Amazon shipped 7.5 million tablets for a market share of 3.1 percent, a sharp 22 percent drop year-over-year.
“As the Tablet market matures, it is also fragmenting further on price tiers and use case,” Strategy Analytics’ Senior Analyst – Tablet & Touchscreen Strategies Eric Smith was quoted as saying.
“Vendors producing Windows OS Tablets may have an opening to more aggressively target the enterprise with the launch of Windows 10 later this year, as CIOs value the control and familiarity that Windows could bring to a landscape largely ruled by the bring-your-own-device trend.”
