There isn’t any question that Apple‘s iPad line has been a major hit, but the time it’s enjoying on top may not last much longer. Android has been slowly taking away Apple’s market share with a number of excellent tablets (the Nexus 10 and Nexus 7 immediately come to mind), and that looks like it’ll continue as we crawl toward 2016. IDC has released new predictions for the tablet market, and unsurprisingly, the predictions have Apple’s share falling year after year moving forward.


Specifically speaking, IDC says that Apple’s market share should be at 53.8% by the end of the year. That’s still pretty good, but it fall short of Apple’s 56.3% in 2011. It appears that Android will be main reason Apple starts slipping, as it’s expected to rise from 39.8% in 2011 to 42.7% by the end of this year.

Most of us were already able to figure out that Android will cut into Apple’s market share as time goes on, but it’s IDC’s numbers for 2016 that are particularly interesting. According to its numbers, Apple will be at 49.7% and Android will be at 39.7% – both falling from where they’re expected to be at the end of 2012. Why the drop? Because IDC predicts that Windows will increase its market share by a significant amount in that time, rising from the 2.9% predicted for 2012 to 10.3% in 2016.

So, Android will continue to chip away at Apple, but both will face some stiff competition from Microsoft and its tablet business. It should be an interesting few years, to say the least. Where do you think these companies will end up? Do you agree with IDC’s numbers, or are they all wrong?

[via SlashGear]

2 COMMENTS

  1. Here’s a Few More Brand New Android Tablets worth looking at — released in late November – the Novo 7 Legend is offered through a site called TabletSprint, and may be considered the first “$100 TABLET” worth buying from any major brand, with features that include a quality screen display, Micro SD portable storage, Android 4.1, a MicroUSB port, and a processor good enough to handle 3D games — Plus WiFi, Ethernet and 3G — For those not familar with the manufacturer, Ainol Electronics, they received a “Best Tablet of the Year” award at CNET Consumer Electronics Show 2012.

    Another new tablet released last week is the Novo 10 Hero and possibly the best 10-inch “price-performance” tablet available this year, features a High Resolution 1280×800 IPS screen, 16GB Memory, a strong Battery and Dual Core processor with Quad Core GPU, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Operating System, Wifi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, and an option for 3G/4G connection.

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