We’ve learned about Google and Samsung’s second quarter financial results already and expect more companies to make similar reports in the coming days. The reports we’ve read so far are encouraging although Samsung needs to work harder and double time during the second half of the year. But when it comes to the whole tablet market, we want to know if such Android mobile device is still popular.
Not that we believe tablets will ever be obsolete but in fact it’s not–at least, not yet. However, numbers seem to be declining and recent Q2 preliminary data by the International Data Corporation (IDC) revealed that tablet market saw a -7.0% decline compared to last year during the same quarter. The 44.7 million units of tablets that were shipped during the past quarter may be big but it’s lower than last year’s figure. Quarter on quarter (QOQ), the worldwide tablet market went down -3.9%.
We can’t blame the tablet game and the manufacturers because there has been minimal updates to the lineup and hardware innovation. Aside from numbers going down, IDC also noted that Samsung and Apple, the top two vendors, have been losing shares in the overall market. IDC Research Director for Tablets’ Jean Philippe Bouchard said that Samsung and Apple’s share when combined “accounted for 45% of the market” last quarter. Share went down to 41% in Q2 because performance of other companies like Huawei, E FUN, and LG are improving.
Apple is still number one with 10.9 million tablets sold and Samsung just behind the Cupertino company with 7.6 million units. On third ranking is Lenovo with 2.5 million units, followed by two vendors, LG and Huawei, each shipping 1.6 million units.
SOURCE: IDC
