“Tablet sales across the globe have slowed significantly, growing only 8.4% year over year in the second quarter versus 58.5% in the same period last year, according to IDC,” Dan Gallagher reports for The Wall Street Journal. “But if this is a problem for Apple, it is a relatively high-quality one.”
“The company still has the largest market share in tablets, and takes an even larger share of the profits,” Gallagher reports. “The company has essentially locked up the premium corner of the business, as evidenced by lackluster sales of nearly every other high-end tablet. Companies that have managed to take some of Apple’s market share have done so at a cost, selling at much lower price points that leave those devices with thin margins.”
“Apple is already rumored to be producing its next iPad for a potential launch this fall, and is also working with IBM to develop apps and services geared to businesses. Chief Tim Cook said on the company’s most recent earnings call the tablet category is still in its early days, and the company plans to bring ‘significant innovation’ to the iPad,” Gallagher reports. “That may give the pioneering tablet another turn in the spotlight.”
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