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Samsung’s tablets closing in on Apple’s iPad, IDC shows

IDC May 1

Research firm IDC is out today with new data on the state of tablet and 2-in-1 sales during the first quarter of this year. While Apple maintains its lead in overall market share, it isn’t exactly experiencing growth. Samsung, however, experienced both an increase in total shipments and market share between Q1 2013 and Q1 2014, according to IDC’s report.

Samsung increased its tablet shipment by nearly 3 million between the two quarters from 8.5 million to 11.2 million. It’s total market share in Q1 2013 and Q1 2014 jumped by 4.8% from 17.5% to 22.3%. Pair that with Lenovo’s market share increase from 1.3% to 4.1% and the collective group of “Others” moving from jumping up nearly 2.5% and you start to see where growth from competitors have chipped away as Apple’s shrinking majority in market share.

“With roughly two-thirds share, Android continues to dominate the market,” said Jitesh Ubrani, Research Analyst, Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker. “Although its share of the market remains small, Windows devices continue to gain traction thanks to sleeper hits like the Asus T100, whose low cost and 2-in-1 form factor appeal to those looking for something that’s ‘good enough’.”

Take into account that only Apple’s tablets run its operating system and the rest either run some flavor of Android (or perhaps Windows) and you can see where two-thirds of the tablet market OS presence exists. It’s also interesting to note that between the two quarters, overall tablet shipments did increase despite Apple’s decline in shipments largely in part to Samsung, Lenovo, and the collective “Others” group.

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