IDC projects Android tablets will pass Apple's iPad this year, sees little good news for Microsoft
The year 2013 will be the one in which shipments of tablets running Google's Android operating system will pass those of Apple's iPad, according to a new analysis out from IDC.
IDC's newest report sees smaller, lower-priced Android devices accounting for 48.8 percent of total tablet shipments for 2013, while Apple's iPad will slip from a 51 percent share in 2012 to 46 percent.
Tablets running Microsoft's Windows 8 and Windows RT operating systems are expected to account for 2.8 and 1.9 percent of 2013 shipments, respectively.
The report also forecasts tablet market share for 2017, revealing somewhat positive news for Microsoft. By 2017, Windows 8 tablets may achieve a 7.4 percent share, while Windows RT tablets should hold 2.7 percent of the market. This share would come at the expense of both Android and iOS tablets, dropping them to 46 and 43.5 percent shares, respectively.
While Windows RT's share is projected to grow, the report is less than kind on the operating system's overall outlook.
"Long term," says IDC Research Director Tom Mainelli, "we think Microsoft and its partners would be better served by focusing their attention on improving Windows 8."
Notably, the analysis does not break out Amazon's Kindle Fire line of tablets from the larger Android set. The Kindle Fire line, running a forked version of Android, does not rely on Google services and thus is usually listed in a separate category from devices from Asus, Samsung, and other Android manufacturers.
This latest IDC report shows the continuation of a trend that has seen the tablet market growing more crowded with time. The report, though, focuses on tablet shipments, which are not necessarily equal to tablet sales. It is difficult to calculate how many tablet devices are in the hands of consumers, as Apple remains the only manufacturer to regularly report its tablet sales.
Other analyses that approach the issue from a usage standpoint show Apple with a commanding lead, despite the growing number of Android tablet shipments. Most recently, Chitika Insights saw Apple's iPad devices accounting for 80 percent of tablet web traffic, with no other devices holding a double-digit share.
Chitika's analysis drew on impressions from more than 250,000 websites, but the firm left open the possibility that Android tablet buyers are using their tablets differently from iOS users.
IDC's newest report sees smaller, lower-priced Android devices accounting for 48.8 percent of total tablet shipments for 2013, while Apple's iPad will slip from a 51 percent share in 2012 to 46 percent.
Tablets running Microsoft's Windows 8 and Windows RT operating systems are expected to account for 2.8 and 1.9 percent of 2013 shipments, respectively.
The report also forecasts tablet market share for 2017, revealing somewhat positive news for Microsoft. By 2017, Windows 8 tablets may achieve a 7.4 percent share, while Windows RT tablets should hold 2.7 percent of the market. This share would come at the expense of both Android and iOS tablets, dropping them to 46 and 43.5 percent shares, respectively.
While Windows RT's share is projected to grow, the report is less than kind on the operating system's overall outlook.
"Long term," says IDC Research Director Tom Mainelli, "we think Microsoft and its partners would be better served by focusing their attention on improving Windows 8."
Notably, the analysis does not break out Amazon's Kindle Fire line of tablets from the larger Android set. The Kindle Fire line, running a forked version of Android, does not rely on Google services and thus is usually listed in a separate category from devices from Asus, Samsung, and other Android manufacturers.
This latest IDC report shows the continuation of a trend that has seen the tablet market growing more crowded with time. The report, though, focuses on tablet shipments, which are not necessarily equal to tablet sales. It is difficult to calculate how many tablet devices are in the hands of consumers, as Apple remains the only manufacturer to regularly report its tablet sales.
Other analyses that approach the issue from a usage standpoint show Apple with a commanding lead, despite the growing number of Android tablet shipments. Most recently, Chitika Insights saw Apple's iPad devices accounting for 80 percent of tablet web traffic, with no other devices holding a double-digit share.
Chitika's analysis drew on impressions from more than 250,000 websites, but the firm left open the possibility that Android tablet buyers are using their tablets differently from iOS users.
Comments
Yeah, so…
Why are we trusting an organization that thinks it can project what will happen in the technology industry in 2017, again? Why are they allowed to say these things at all?
No, seriously. Seriously. Why. Each of us needs to e-mail these morons and ask that. Why do they think they have any idea what will happen in 2017.
Imagine that instead of 2013, the first column is for 2010 and that this image was posted a few days after the first iPad's announcement. And then they're projecting out for 2014 that Apple will have 10% of the market or whatever.
It doesn't matter what they're actually projecting; that they think anything four years from now can be determined using the state of the industry today is laughable to the extreme.
Didn't IDC said the same thing since 2011 and 2012, with a few differences:
- The iPad share would be even lower,
- Windows share would be higher.
Poor trolls.
Frankly, i don't care if apple sells 1 million or 1 trillion devices as long as they are healthy. The only thing I care is about good products from them, and OSX deserves an update.
I'll believe it when i see it...........
The BEST EVER JOKE! Ha hhha hhhhaaaaaa hha hahhha hhhhaaaa
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
The report also forecasts tablet market share for 2017, revealing somewhat positive news for Microsoft. By 2017, Windows 8 tablets may achieve a 7.4 percent share, while Windows RT tablets should hold 2.7 percent of the market.
I'm pretty sure that's exactly how Microsoft wants it. Single-digit share.
And why does Microsoft want low Surface sales volumes? Because software pricing for Surface is lower than for legacy PCs. For apps as well as the OS itself. And that means that Microsoft is screwed either way. Either Surface takes off and cannibalizes the higher-margin legacy PC software market, or Surface just plods along in the "other" slice of the post-PC pie and iPad cannibalizes the higher-margin legacy PC software market. Either way, Microsoft loses software revenue, their bread-and-butter "core competency." Therefore, the middle path is the best path. Sell Surface in mediocre numbers. Split the difference. Gradually amortize the development cost.
And why would Microsoft want to keep on shipping Surface despite low volumes and profits? To maintain the image of being a 21st-century company. To make it look like they actually care about the post-PC era at all. To go through the motions of being modern while being trapped by their legacy desktop Windows + Office + enterprise software businesses. Where "enterprise" is a euphemism for "technologically frozen in time." All to keep themselves in the news somehow, anyhow. Because Windows 8 certainly isn't doing it for them.
One point, due to the complete de-googling that Amazon does to their Kindle Fire tablets, wouldn't simply classifying Kindle Fire tablets simply as Android tablets be a bit like classifying Mac OS X as UNIX when compiling PC OS statistics?
I mean, technically it's correct, but it doesn't really tell the whole story.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pedromartins
Didn't IDC said the same thing since 2011 and 2012, with a few differences:
- The iPad share would be even lower,
- Windows share would be higher.
Poor trolls.
Frankly, i don't care if apple sells 1 million or 1 trillion devices as long as they are healthy. The only thing I care is about good products from them, and OSX deserves an update.
Interesting...
https://www.pcworld.com/article/196776/article.html
http://news.yahoo.com/idc-ups-tablet-estimates-expects-shipments-reach-222-212010993.html
http://www.datamation.com/mobile-wireless/idc-tablet-shipments-to-reach-282m-by-2016.html
http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2012/09/19/idc-raises-2012-tablet-forecast-10-record-consumer-demand-117-1m-units-ipad-59-9/
IDC has no idea what is going on and they just make up numbers to create buzz.
Exactly shipped....not sold and not used....Android needs to claims it's the no1 operating system or it will suffer...there is not way Apple's sales will be lower then android's for tablets....also 2017...lol....hahahaha...can they reads palms as well.
True, but that doesn't stop Wall Street from believing the nonsense - and killing the stock (again).
IDC apparently follows Lewis Carroll: "Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
Having some type of ecosystem that surrounds the hardware I think is critical, so we stayed away from non-Amazon hardware, ie Samsung, etc
We are pretty much a Mac home, iMac 27, MBA, Apple TV, iPhone 4&5, ipad 2, iPod 4th gen, again, absolutely love Apple products, they "get" the user experience and have the interface and ecosystem that everybody is trying to copy. As it stands today there are very good and less expensive facsimiles out there.
Regards
Fro
Android tablets being used differently than iPads? How? My thoughts are they aren't using them long after they buy them because there really isn't much you do with one. Maybe play some free games.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pedromartins
Didn't IDC said the same thing since 2011 and 2012, with a few differences:
- The iPad share would be even lower,
- Windows share would be higher.
Poor trolls.
Frankly, i don't care if apple sells 1 million or 1 trillion devices as long as they are healthy. The only thing I care is about good products from them, and OSX deserves an update.
OS X is getting another upgrade later this year. 10.9 will be shown at WWDC, which is a few months away.
Question, who's going to make these Android tablets? I thought many or most of the Android tablet makers were doing pretty poorly with regards to tablet sales, with the exception of Amazon, maybe. Who knows because they don't report numbers.
Are they relying on Samsung for this? HTC? Asus? Another savior? Who? Or are they counting phablets in those numbers?
MSFT at 7.4%. Not likely with the reports we've seen out of W8.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ktappe
Wait, wait, wait..... people actually buy Android tablets??
dont know. but that's not what they are saying anyway. They said shipments. Not sales. For all we know, the android numbers are higher because Apple doesn't count stock going into their direct channels (ie stores and online site) as shipments. And indirect sales channels are less than half their business. So by nature the number would be lower.
and then add in that a shipped unit doesn't equal a sold one and the numbers are questionable
I feel real sorry for all of the people stuck with a miserable Android tablet. Can you imagine all of the unhappy and crying kids who got some cheap Android tablet for Christmas?
Android's numbers have always been hyped and misrepresented since the beginning of time. You can't trust any Android numbers at all. We've seen how the game has played out these last few years.
Here's yet again, another study, where projections are being made, and it's totally useless and meaningless. Anybody can pull random numbers out of their ass. And if Android sales are going so great, why is it that every manufacturer is scared shitless, and refuses to actually report how many that they have sold? Most people weren't born yesterday, and only a naive fool could possibly believe that Android is a prosperous platform.
One little piece of good news recently is that at least when I am taking my next flight, the probability of a Fandroid sitting next to me is extremely low, since it is now known that Fandroids are allergic to high altitudes and it is also known that they're also allergic to opening up their wallets, though that last bit has been known for quite some time now.
I also read that Google laid off 1,200 workers (motorola mobility), yep, Google/Android is going great. I expect the stock to jump up at least 5% based on this news.