Apple iPad losing market share but maintaining strong leads in usage and profitability

“IDC released its estimates for June quarter tablet shipments and except for Lenovo and Tier 3 vendors it wasn’t a pretty picture,” Chuck Jones writes for Forbes. “Worldwide tablet shipments grew 11% year over year to 49.3 million and declined 2% from the March quarter. While the 11% growth rate was substantially better than the March quarter’s 4% year over year growth it was largely due to Lenovo, up 60% year over year, and the other category growing 39%.”

“Apple maintained its number one share position at 26.9% (13.3 million iPads) but is down from 33.0% a year ago (14.6 million) and 60.2% two years ago (17 million). Samsung has seen its share increase from two years ago from 7.4% to 17.2% but it is down slightly from 18.8% a year ago,” Jones writes. “Lenovo came in third but lags far behind at 4.9% share in the June quarter. It has seen strong growth at almost 65% year over year but since it was 4.8% share in the September 2013 quarter its growth rate looks like it will significantly decelerate this quarter. The ‘other’ category has seen its share increase from 21.4% two years ago to 37% a year ago to 44.4% this year.”

“While it is a U.S. and Canadian survey, Chitika Insights latest data shows iPads share of ad impressions holding steady in the high 70% area with Amazon second at 7.3% and Samsung third at 6.3%. This type of statistic is an important gauge on which tablets are being used and could be more important than unit market shares,” Jones writes. “The share shifts in the tablet market feel similar to the smartphone market. Apple is losing share but maintaining a good lead in usage and profitability.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Apple doesn’t compete in accumulating market (unit) share. Apple competes, and dominates, in amassing quality customers. See related articles below.

Related article:
With 15.5% of smartphone market share in Q1, Apple took 65% of all handset profits – May 9, 2014
Analyst: Apple iPhone took 87.4% of mobile phone profits in Q4 – February 11, 2014
Apple Macintosh owns 45% of PC market profits – April 16, 2013

16 Comments

    1. Your instincts are correct:

      “Apple reported ‘strong double digit growth’ in its Mac sales in the U.S., directly contradicting the earlier estimates published by IDC and Gartner that stated Apple’s U.S. Mac sales fell year-over-year in the June quarter and calling into question the legitimacy of market estimates that the tech media uncritically presents as factual,” Daniel Eran Dilger reports for AppleInsider.

    2. If you reinvent a market, make a product and sell a lot, it is inevitable that others will copy you and sell some too.
      It is not a surprise that you will lose market share and lose sales too. If you are one of the followers that at first gains market share and numbers (from 0 to a number is always a positive, duh analysts) and then loses women, THAT would indicate something. Apple being the first should be treated with a different set of rulers….but then again, I am just a simple fool from a tiny country and these analysts are so smart. Calimero.

  1. I think Tim Cook is gonna start competing more in the “affordable” category. Why not? The form factor and software are already done and paid for. Why not lower prices and own the market?

    1. A few points:

      1. They already own the market.

      2. Producing cheap netbooks wasn’t necessary, as many said. They produced the Air and obliterated the whole o-so-wonderful netbook sector.

      3. Producing a cheap desktop wasn’t necessary. Macs are selling well, while the Windblows PC sector tanks.

      Apple has never entered the pricing “race to the bottom”. No need to start now.

  2. “While it is a U.S. and Canadian survey, Chitika Insights latest data shows iPads share of ad impressions holding steady in the high 70% area with Amazon second at 7.3% and Samsung third at 6.3%. This type of statistic is an important gauge on which tablets are being used and could be more important than unit market shares,” Jones writes. “The share shifts in the tablet market feel similar to the smartphone market. Apple is losing share but maintaining a good lead in usage and profitability.”
    Really? Well, no shit, Sherlock!
    Christ, do these people actually get paid for this drivel?

  3. Misleading reports by the likes of IDC and blogs by tech writers has the side effect of duping Apple’s competitors into thinking that they are winning the war and allowing Apple to fly under the radar for surprise attacks.

  4. So, in other words, the iPad is following the same pattern as the iPhone: cheapo competitors flood the market, reducing the iOS device’s market share, but that iOS device retains a huge lead in actual online usage and money made for developers, arguably the only categories that count.

    If the pattern holds, expect idiot tech analysts to be perplexed when Apple doesn’t immediately release a crappy $80 plastic iPad to compete with the cheap also-rans.

    ——RM

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