IDC: Samsung & Apple stay atop worldwide tablet sales as they lose share to “other” brands

IDC is out today with its numbers on tablet shipments for Q4 2014 showing Apple & Samsung remained on top of the market both last quarter and throughout 2014 despite a slight drop in overall market share.

Apple sold 21.4 million iPads during the holiday quarter last year, which gave the company around 28% market share compared to 33% with 26 million units sold during the same quarter last year. Apple beats out number two Samsung, according to IDC, which grabbed 14.5% of the market in Q4 with 11 million units shipped. Samsung also dipped in overall market share from 17.2% with 13.5 million units shipped in the year ago quarter.

The remaining spots in the top five for Q4 include Lenovo (4.8%), ASUS (4%), and Amazon (2.3%). While Apple and Samsung saw slight drops, Lenovo and the “Others” category gained market share during the quarter.

For the year, Apple came in with 27.6% market share (down from 34% in 2013), while Samsung comes in at 17.5% (down from 18.1% in 2013). Again, the declines come as Lenovo and the “Others” category grow in market share for the year. Also in the top five, Asus and Amazon, lost market share during Q4 and 2014.

While Samsung met its goal of 40 million tablets shipped, a 1.1% increase over 2013, IDC noted: “Samsung’s Tab 4 series has been well received and its recent announcement to focus on mid-high tier tablets should help the bottom line though market share will likely continue to struggle.”

As always, IDC’s numbers account for units shipped, not necessarily sales. IDC’s numbers include “slate tablets plus 2-in-1 tablets.”