Strategy Analytics: Android beats iOS in Q2 tablet shipments, Windows gains ground
All in all, global tablet shipments were up for Q2, according to new numbers released by analyst firm Strategy Analytics. Factoring in white-box units, the market saw 51.7 million tablets shipped in that time period -- that's up 43-percent compared to the same time last year. A lot of that good news can be chalked up to Android's success. The OS saw a healthy bump from 18.5- to 34.6 million units shipped, a number that has Google's mobile operating system holding 67-percent of the market. The news is a little less cheery on Apple's side of the OS wars, with shipments dipping from 17- to 14.6 million units, decreasing its marketshare to 28.3-percent, according to the firm. Microsoft, not surprisingly, saw a healthy increase in shipments from last year -- though it's still got a ways to go, calling around 4.5-percent of the market its own.
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Strategy Analytics: Android Dominates the Tablet Market in 2013 Q2
According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global tablet shipments reached 51.7 million units in the first quarter of 2013. Android secured a robust 67 percent global share, while Apple iOS declined further to 28 percent. Windows also fell back but secured a 4.5 percent global share.
Peter King, Director of Tablets at Strategy Analytics, said, "Global Branded Tablet shipments reached 36.2 million units in Q2 2013, up 47 percent from 24.6 million in Q2 2012. The Branded Tablet market had a rest period as very few new products came to market during the quarter. When we add in White-Box Tablets, shipments reached 51.7 million units, up 43 percent from 36.1 million in Q2 2012. Android is now making steady progress due to hardware partners like Samsung, Amazon, Google and White-Box tablets which, despite the fact that branded OEMs are lowering price-points and putting pressure on the White-Box manufacturers, are still performing well." King added, "Apple iOS shipments were 14.6 million iPads in Q2 2013 which declined 14 percent annually. In the same quarter a year ago the first Retina display iPads were launched which could partly explain the decline as there were no new models in this quarter. However, to compensate that, iPad Mini which was not available a year ago, now freely available was expected to take the figure higher than 14.6 million."
Other findings from the research include:
Microsoft captured a niche 4.5 percent global tablet share in Q2 2013. There may be an uptick in Windows RT shipments in Q3 following savage price cuts by all the partners still involved in the RT Market. Microsoft has reduced prices by $150 and other vendors even more; they are still not cheap, but are much more where they should be to compete. The shortage of apps continues to be a problem, with seemingly little incentive for developers to work on the platform.
