It’s certainly not time just yet for Apple to start waving the white flag, but Google’s Android is definitely starting to chip away at Cupertino’s dominance in the tablet market, with the iPad slipping to 77 percent, while Android is up to 22 percent.
AppleInsider is reporting that tablets based on Google’s Android operating system are slowly but steadily starting to encroach on Apple’s turf, despite impressive iPad sales for Apple’s last fiscal quarter. According to research firm Strategy Analytics, Apple’s slice of the pie has fallen from 95 percent in the previous quarter to 77 percent in the December quarter.
That’s good news for any number of tablet manufacturers using Google Android, who saw their share of the market increase “nearly tenfold,” from a mere 2.3 percent to 22 percent.
"The Samsung Galaxy Tab was the main driver of Android success,” reveals Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics. “Tablet makers like Android because of its perceived low cost and an accompanying range of compelling media services such as YouTube and Google Maps.”
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab has quickly risen through the ranks -- after reporting 600,000 units sold in November of last year when the tablet first went on sale, Samsung announced last week that two million units were sold in the fourth quarter. By comparison, Apple sold 7.3 million iPads in the same period.
The news for Apple could get worse before it gets better, with a number of hot tablet devices coming in the months ahead. The most likely rivals appear to be the Motorola Xoom which is expected in February, as well as the seven-inch Blackberry PlayBook expected by the end of the first quarter from Research in Motion. HP is also set to unveil their own webOS-based tablet on February 9.
Of course, these new arrivals will also be confronting Apple’s follow-up in the near future, which is widely expected to be called iPad 2. While no one knows for sure what Apple has up its sleeve, the iPad 2 will likely feature a better display, dual cameras and a faster processor at the very least.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
(Image courtesy of IntoMobile)
fadge
January 31, 2011 at 3:32pm
One problems is that the numbers aren't the same. Apple's sales figures are sales to consumers, while the Galaxy Tab figure of two million represents sales to carriers and resellers, many of which are still in inventory - as opposed to having been, y'know, purchased by consumers.
raffip
January 31, 2011 at 8:12pm
Great analogy sportmac. I loved it.
Mr. Bookwalter's story, while factually correct, is light on the facts. If the size of the pie was steady, and Apple's market share was declining, this would be a newsworthy story. But the size of the pie is growing by orders of magnitude, and Apple is the main game in town. New devices mean that people will have choices, and Apple's market share percentage is bound to shrink. That does not mean Apple is selling fewer units, or seeing its sales decline.
I realize that in the rush to meet reporting deadlines, and to get eyeballs on pages, reporters and editors might take the path of least resistance and try to sensationalize a story. If I wanted that type of coverage, I'd read a tabloid. Is this the reporting style MacLife plans to pursue?
sportmac
January 31, 2011 at 9:25am
if you got 100 people and they all eat pears and some one joins the group who only eats oranges then the percentage of pear eaters has declined. doesn't mean the amount of pears eaten has declined.
if other people are going to join the group and they are determined to only eat oranges then the number of pears eaten has still not declined.
if even more people are going to join later and they were going to eat only pears but a large percentage of them have now decided to eat only oranges then there's a story.
JPry
January 31, 2011 at 8:39am
Are you serious? "Apple losing market share"??? This article gives the impression that Apple sales are declining while Android is ramping up, when really Android wasn't even on the market until the past few months! Seeing that market share is a percentage, of course Apple's market share will go down when more devices come to market. But market share is worthless measurement that doesn't really tell you anything.
Last time I heard, iPads were still selling at a high rate. Just because new devices are introduced in the same product category doesn't mean Apple is declining in some way.
How about running a legitimate report instead of something that is so twisted that it's laughable.
leicaman
January 31, 2011 at 8:39am
Yeah, well, it could sell one tablet and Apple's market share would go down. You can't expect to gain market share when you're at 100 percent or nearly the equivalent.
Wake me when something unexpected happens.
