Tablet sales are on the decline, and the iPad is “the weakest leak,” according to the latest report from International Data Corporation.
The organization has scaled back its five-year forecast for tablets, expecting market growth to come to a near standstill. With 234.5 million units expected to be sold in 2015, the tablet market will only gain a modest 2.1 percent year-over-year.
Apple’s market share is expected to decline for the first time in 2015, putting it at its lowest level in three years. Rumors have claimed Apple is working on a bigger iPad with advanced features to help rekindle sales, but some experts doubt it will be the answer to Apple’s prayers.
Android is expected to remain the leading platform on tablets, closing in on nearly two-thirds of the market by 2019. Microsoft is also expected to gain a foothold, thanks to increasing demand in the commercial sector. IDC estimates Surface tablets will comprise 14.1 percent of tablet sales by 2019.
“Despite the growing popularity of phablets, there still remains a portion of the market that wants to use a larger device so they can tailor their experience to the appropriate screen size,” said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst, Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker.
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
8 responses to “Tablet market growth is shrinking, and iPad is the weakest link”
I think this speaks to the longevity and non-disposable nature of the iPad, which some might consider to be a positive. People simply aren’t replacing their iPads every year.
That’s very true. Most people I know that have iPads see no compelling reason to upgrade because the iPads really don’t change too much with each generation. They last a long time and still do all the same things, why change? The real question here is how can Apple make new models innovative enough that people have a reason to upgrade.
Agreed!
Mainly because of the steep price of the iPad. Also everyone who wants one already most likely has one.
“Tablet market growth is shrinking, and iPad is the weakest link”
“…According to the latest report from International Data Corporation?” Really? I mean, exactly who are •they•? I tend to think this so-called report is total BS. The tablet market is hardly over-saturated, with hundreds of thousands to millions of devices (mostly iPads) being readied for educational, medical and governmental agencies.
One man’s report is another man’s silly rumor, and I think this is the latter.
I am inclined to agree.
This is the very best proof of the nonsense of the planned obsolescence
That is a shame. The iPad beats all other tablets ‘hands-down’. People using androids miss out on the complete experience of reading a real iBook written in iBook Author format. As an indy author that writes how to bonsai books – iBA is outstanding. Try writing and imbedding photos into ePub format.