WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Tablet sales worldwide suffered another hit in 2015, a double-digit drop in sales across all brands, however, Apple still holds almost a quarter of the market, with 24.5 percent, according to the marketing research firm IDC.
The firm reported a 13.7 percent year-over-year drop in worldwide sales in the fourth quarter of 2015 (October-December), with 69.5 million total units shipped. For the full year, IDC said the number of tablets purchased dropped 10.1 percent from a year earlier, with a total of 206.8 million. Entering 2014, the tablet market had been gaining momentum, but failed to live up to analysts predictions as consumers opted to purchase slimmer laptop computers in an effort to prolong the life of their already purchased tablets.
Microsoft’s Surface tablet is seen in one of its stores (Photo betanews.com)
One significant area of growth in the tablet market was observed in the “detachable” segment—removable keyboards and other tablet accessories being sold are growing at a surmountable rate, according to IDC. In 2015, detachable tablets reached an all-time high of 8.1 million units.
“One of the biggest reasons why detachables are growing so fast is because end users are seeing those devices as PC replacements,” said IDC’s Jean Philippe Bouchard.
“We believe Apple sold just over two million iPad Pros while Microsoft sold around 1.6 million Surface devices, a majority of which were Surface Pro and not the more affordable Surface 3. With these results, it’s clear that price is not the most important feature considered when acquiring a detachable — performance is.”
Apple’s iPad at an Apple store in Milan, Italy. (Photo EPA/MATTEO BAZZI)
Jitesh Ubrani, an IDC analyst, has deemed Apple’s iPad Pro as “the clear winner this season, as it was the top selling detachable, surpassing notable entries from Microsoft and other PC vendors.” He opined this could have been at least partly fueled by Google’s “lackluster” launch of its new detachable tablet, and added that its Android interface “will require a lot more refinement to achieve any measurable success.”
Apple’s success, and king of the hill status, was cemented by No. 1 fourth quarter sales of 16.1 million units, a market share of 24.5% despite a drop in unit sales of nearly 25%. Samsung filed in at a distant second place, moving nine million units for a 13.7 percent share, and Amazon crossed the finish line in third place, moving five million units and a 7.9 percent share. Not everyone can afford an apple tablet and if that’s the case for you hopefully this cheap tablet guide will be of some help.
IDC noted that while Amazon’s tablet sales have soared 175.7 percent in the last quarter, it was due largely in fact to the relatively low price—bargain tablets are priced as low as $50 on the site.
