The global sales of tablets to end users reached 195.4 million units in 2013, a 68 per cent increase on 2012, according to a study by Gartner.
While sales of iOS (Apple’s operating system) tablets grew in the fourth quarter of 2013, its share declined to 36 per cent in 2013. The tablet growth in 2013 was fuelled by the low-end smaller screen tablet market, and first time buyers; this led Android to become the No. 1 tablet operating system (OS), with 62 percent of the market.
"In 2013, tablets became a mainstream phenomenon, with a vast choice of Android-based tablets being within the budget of mainstream consumers while still offering adequate specifications," said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner. "As the Android tablet market becomes highly commoditised, in 2014, it will be critical for vendors to focus on device experience and meaningful technology and ecosystem value — beyond just hardware and cost — to ensure brand loyalty and improved margins."
In 2013, the share of Apple's iOS dropped 16.8 percentage points as the market demand was driven by the improved quality of smaller low-cost tablets from branded vendors, and white-box products continued to grow in emerging markets.
Gartner analysts said emerging markets recorded growth of 145 per cent in 2013, while mature markets grew 31 per cent. "Apple's tablets remain strong in the higher end of the market and Apple's approach will continue to force vendors to compete with full ecosystem offerings, even in the smaller-screen market as the iPad mini sees a greater share,” added Cozza.
In 2013, Microsoft's tablet volumes improved but share remained small. Despite Microsoft now acting more rapidly to evolve Windows 8.1, its ecosystem still failed to capture major consumers' interest on tablets.
The tablet market has become a challenging environment for branded hardware-driven players. They are squeezed by service-driven and content-driven players, and aggressive prices from white-box vendors. In addition, a situation where the top two tablet vendors have captured 55 per cent of the market in 2013 compounds the challenge.
From a vendor perspective, Apple's strong fourth quarter helped it to maintain the top position in the market in 2013. Samsung, ranked No. 2, exhibited the highest growth of the worldwide tablet vendors, at 336 percent, in 2013. The expansion and improvement of its Galaxy tablet portfolio, together with strong marketing and promotions, helped Samsung shrink the gap with Apple. In line with its smartphone approach, Samsung's over segmentation of its tablet portfolio helped it to offer a wider size and price choice but also helped to test the market and find niches.