iPad Slumps as Android Tablets Become More Popular

Apple’s iPad has been the dominating tablet for quite some time, but Android tablets are finally gaining steam and overtaking iPad market share. According to research firm Gartner, Android tablets made up 61.9% of the tablet market share in 2013, with the iPad settling at 36%. The previous year, iPads controlled 52.8% of the tablet market, while Android owned 45.8%.

As for the number of tablets sold in 2013 and compared to 2012, Android tablet sales grew tremendously last year, selling an approximate 121 million slates, which is over twice the estimate amount sold in 2012 at 53.3 million. As for the iPad, around 70.4 million were sold, compared to 61.5 million in 2012.

However, Microsoft tablets saw the biggest increase, going from owning 1% of the tablet market share to 2.1% in 2013, selling 4 million tablets, compared to just 1.1 million in 2012. Obviously, this still isn’t enough to even put a dent in Android or iOS market share, but progress is progress.

You can most likely thank the wealth of cheap tablets saturating the market as the boon to Android’s market share boost that allowed it to fly by the iPad. It’s certainly not surprising, especially considering that there are so many different Android-powered tablets to choose from, whereas Apple only has a few options.

Furthermore, we’re surprised it took this long for Android to overtake iOS in tablet market share, considering the above. However, Gartner says that Samsung’s success in the tablet business helped Android overtake iOS overall, with a whopping 336% in 2013 to own 19.1% of the market share for all tablets. Of course, Apple’s 36% still can’t be beaten, but it might not be long before Samsung comes nibbling on Apple’s feet, and while Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire series are quite popular, Samsung is the quiet king when it comes to tablet sales.