Boston, MA – January
30, 2014
– According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, fourth
quarter 2013 global Tablet shipments reached 76.8 million units. Android
again exerted its dominance with a 62 percent market share, while iOS rebounded
from two quarters of share loss to take 34 percent of the total market in the
fourth quarter.
Peter King, Director
of Tablets at Strategy Analytics, said “Global Total Tablet shipments
reached 76.8 million units in Q4 2013, up 20 percent from 64 million units in Q4
2012.”
New products from Apple late in the
year contributed to the company growing market share in the fourth quarter by almost
7 percent (relative to Q3 2013), therefore reversing a trend of two successive
quarters of share loss. Samsung ended the year strongly where its fourth
quarter shipments were almost double the volume it shipped in one year
previously in Q4 2012.
Exhibit 1: Global Total Tablet Vendor
Market Share in Q4 2013 (Preliminary)
On the annual basis, Global Tablet
shipments for 2013 reached 227 million units, up 33 percent from 2012. Apple
finished 2013 as the number one Tablet vendor with 33 percent of the total Tablet
market. However archrival Samsung closed the gap by nearly doubling its share
from 10 percent in 2012, to 18 percent in 2013.
Matt Wilkins, Director
of Tablets and Wearables at Strategy Analytics, said “2013 was another
extremely healthy year for the Tablet market. While it may not be a
three-figure growth rate like we have witnessed previously, it is still
significant considering the market is now delivering in excess of 200 million
units on an annual global basis.”
1.
A white-box tablet is a product produced by one
company (the manufacturer or ODM) that other companies (the vendors or OEMs)
rebrand to make it appear as if they made it. White box tablets invariably use
different components to a branded tablet in order to keep costs to a minimum.
2.
Shipments refer to sell-in. Numbers are rounded.
The definition of a Tablet does not include e-book readers or convertible PCs.