Is our love affair with tablets beginning to wane? New data from research firm IDC Corp. shows worldwide tablet shipments experienced their first year-over-year decline ever in the fourth quarter, with modest growth overall for 2014.
According to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, global shipments for tablets and 2-in-1 devices were 76.1 million in Q4. That’s a decline of 3.2 per cent over the same period one year ago, the first quarterly decline since the inception of the market in 2010. For the year, the market increased by 4.4 per cent with some 229.6 million units shipped.
“The tablet market is still very top heavy in the sense that it relies mostly on Apple and Samsung to carry the market forward each year,” said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, in a statement. “Although Apple expanded its iPad lineup by keeping around older models and offering a lower entry price point of US$249, it still wasn’t enough to spur iPad sales given the excitement around the launch of the new iPhones. Meanwhile, Samsung’s struggles continued as low-cost vendors are quickly proving that mid- to high-priced Android tablets simply aren’t cut out for today’s tablet market.”
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Apple was firmly on top spot among tablet vendors, with its 21.4 million units shipped accounting for 28.1 per cent of the market. IDC said its momentum appears to be waning though, with its new generation iPad Air and mini offering little innovation over previous models. Samsung was a distant second with 11 million units shipped and a positive reception for its Tab 4 series. It was followed by Lenovo, Asus and Amazon.
“Despite an apparent slow-down of the market, we maintain our forecast about tablet growth in 2015,” said Jean Philippe Bouchard, research director for tablets with IDC. “Microsoft’s new OS, a general shift towards larger screen form factor and productivity focused solutions, and technology innovations such as gesture interface that could be introduced in tablets will help the market maintain positive growth in 2015.”