Android Beat Apple In Tablet Sales Last Year

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Android tablets put up some very impressive numbers in 2013. Apple can't be too happy about dropping from 53% market share down to 36%.

Android tablet sales jumped to 120.9 million in 2013 to snag a global market share of 61.9 percent, up from sales of 53.3 million and a 45.8 percent share in 2012. Over the same time, iPad sales grew to 70.4 million from 61.4 million. But Apple's share of the tablet market dropped to 36 percent from 52.8 percent.
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The vendor breakdown is far more interesting and telling than the raw OS shares.

If you look at Table 2, you see this isn't so much a case of Android surging ahead, as it is a case of Samsung surging ahead. Samsung nearly tripled their sales in 2013, and almost all of that market share came from Apple. All the other vendors' numbers stayed relatively the same.
 
One company against several dozen. Pretty good numbers if you ask me.
 
I left an iphone 5 this year for a Nexus 5 and could be happier. I plan to do the same with my tablet real soon. Apple is played out. The customization in Android is fantastic.
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apple can't compete with $200 tablets. I wonder what the breakdown is of how many bought x and at what pricing.
 
If they'd sell an ipad mini at $229 instead of $299, maybe they'd have something going for them.
 
What is cool is Microsoft also managed to up their 2012 to 2013 sales by almost a factor of 4! :D Going up is a good thing and introduces more competition into the mix. Heck, between the better Surface 2, Surface 2 Pro and the 8 inch Windows 8.1 tablets, things are looking up in that area.

Android tablets are no surprise since you can plenty of them for around or under $200. When Microsoft enters into that arena, it will be interesting to see what happens long term. Perhaps it will force better hardware in that price range all around.
 
ManofGod said:
What is cool is Microsoft also managed to up their 2012 to 2013 sales by almost a factor of 4! :D Going up is a good thing and introduces more competition into the mix. Heck, between the better Surface 2, Surface 2 Pro and the 8 inch Windows 8.1 tablets, things are looking up in that area.

Android tablets are no surprise since you can plenty of them for around or under $200. When Microsoft enters into that arena, it will be interesting to see what happens long term. Perhaps it will force better hardware in that price range all around.
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I agree...hopefully we'll also see a Nexus 8 as I think 8" is a sweet spot.
 
kirbyrj said:
I agree...hopefully we'll also see a Nexus 8 as I think 8" is a sweet spot.
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No, no, no, and no! 8 inches is not at all a sweet spot. :mad: Until you've had to handle 8 inches, 11 inches, and 10 inches on a regular basis, you would never understand. Seriously, there are only so many people who can find a place to stuff that many inches. Almost everyone will be disappointed to find that, after putting their Nexus someplace, that there just isn't enough depth and a couple inches are left hanging out with nowhere to go unless you push and shove and cram to the point that you might hurt yourself or someone else by accident and that ruins it for everyone. When it comes to a person's Nexus, 8 inches is NOT a sweet spot and never will be. Call me back when the get it down to 6 inches with like a reasonable amount of girth so it fits snugly in your hands without straining and then we can talk about sweet spots.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
No, no, no, and no! 8 inches is not at all a sweet spot. :mad: Until you've had to handle 8 inches, 11 inches, and 10 inches on a regular basis, you would never understand. Seriously, there are only so many people who can find a place to stuff that many inches. Almost everyone will be disappointed to find that, after putting their Nexus someplace, that there just isn't enough depth and a couple inches are left hanging out with nowhere to go unless you push and shove and cram to the point that you might hurt yourself or someone else by accident and that ruins it for everyone. When it comes to a person's Nexus, 8 inches is NOT a sweet spot and never will be. Call me back when the get it down to 6 inches with like a reasonable amount of girth so it fits snugly in your hands without straining and then we can talk about sweet spots.
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My wife knows where to stuff 8 inches...
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
No, no, no, and no! 8 inches is not at all a sweet spot. :mad: Until you've had to handle 8 inches, 11 inches, and 10 inches on a regular basis, you would never understand. Seriously, there are only so many people who can find a place to stuff that many inches. Almost everyone will be disappointed to find that, after putting their Nexus someplace, that there just isn't enough depth and a couple inches are left hanging out with nowhere to go unless you push and shove and cram to the point that you might hurt yourself or someone else by accident and that ruins it for everyone. When it comes to a person's Nexus, 8 inches is NOT a sweet spot and never will be. Call me back when the get it down to 6 inches with like a reasonable amount of girth so it fits snugly in your hands without straining and then we can talk about sweet spots.
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Ummm...I would buy an 8" Nexus. I would throw a 6" Nexus away just so you couldn't have it :p.
 
And now's about the time for apple to "innovate" and create another tech niche since they'll never have a majority market share in tablets again. I feel like watching The Onion's fake apple product launch again (the iWheel or something?) They nailed it with that one, lol
 
If the manufacturers would get off their behinds and figure out a way to eliminate the enormous bezels on their otherwise fantastic tablets, it would make 7" a far more pocketable form factor.
 
illli said:
apple can't compete with $200 tablets. I wonder what the breakdown is of how many bought x and at what pricing.
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Apple has never been able to compete on price.
They will continue to see thier market share decline, most likely in the next couple years, thier unit sales will also start to decline.
 
Good to know people are getting smarter and realizing Apple is overpriced junk designed for early obsolescence.
 
mi7chy said:
Good to know people are getting smarter and realizing Apple is overpriced junk designed for early obsolescence.
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It's not so much being smart as that there are simply cheap Android devices out there. And quite honestly a lot of those cheap Android tablets are the epitome of junk compared to an iPad. Market share for Apple will continue to shrink with Android on the rise and now even full x86 Windows tablets coming in at substantially less than iPads, but the unit volumes should grow and Apple should be able to maintain its fantastic margins.
 
mi7chy said:
Good to know people are getting smarter and realizing Apple is overpriced junk designed for early obsolescence.
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Except for the fact that iOS is still a better platform to dev for.

The piracy rate on android is pretty insane numerous cases of 90+% install base are pirated... I have tried to refute or disbelieve but can't find any evidence this is not the case.

Thus many smaller devs still make much more money on iOS even with dropping market share.

Seeing a trend to more and more ads + micro-transaction apps on Android like Plants vs Zombies 2... honestly it is sad... I would have happily paid 5-8 bucks for a sequel but this micro-transaction, ad paid version is not nearly as fun as the original.

Micro-transaction trend is bad enough as it is but almost forced on the android platform.
 
Apple is great at designing interfaces but not much else. Same thing happened with PC's. Without Steve Jobs they are finished...
 
dandirk said:
Except for the fact that iOS is still a better platform to dev for.

The piracy rate on android is pretty insane numerous cases of 90+% install base are pirated... I have tried to refute or disbelieve but can't find any evidence this is not the case.
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This is the same tired misbelief that's being regurgitated. It's been refuted many times with stories of iOS apps being pulled due to piracy and devs stating Android apps sell better. I could waste my time digging up those articles but the sheep wouldn't believe anyway. It's no different from PC vs Mac software market where the sheer marketshare of PC dominate sales even factoring in piracy.
 
Until a 10" android tablet with HD and a 4:3 screen comes out from a reputable brand I'll stick with my ipad.
 
Lebowski said:
Until a 10" android tablet with HD and a 4:3 screen comes out from a reputable brand I'll stick with my ipad.
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The best aspect ratio for a tablet I think is 16:10 overall, not as good for reading perhaps has 4:3 but much better for video.
 
kirbyrj said:
Yes, but when you owned 80% of the market and are now at 1/3 of the market...
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Their sales still went from 53 million to 120 million. I'd also argue that looking at the numbers, the majority of tablet sales to android went to lower cost tablets. I contributed to that shift, and if apple had something compelling at $299 or less, I probably would have gone apple. But they didn't, so I went with ASUS and got a couple 10" memopads as gifts. Apple seems dead set on conceding that market, so I don't see them being particularly upset. Add in the fact that shoving in an extra 32gb of storage for music, videos, photos on them was cheap, and it'd be hard to compete.

I do have to say that the iOS tablet ready apps market is in a lot better shape than android and the play store offerings.
 
ManofGod said:
What is cool is Microsoft also managed to up their 2012 to 2013 sales by almost a factor of 4! :D Going up is a good thing and introduces more competition into the mix. Heck, between the better Surface 2, Surface 2 Pro and the 8 inch Windows 8.1 tablets, things are looking up in that area.
.
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Not sure why the need to inject MS minutiae about an article where its a nonfactor but as long as you are, sure, when a company starts from zero and then sells 10 tablets I guess some would call that massive growth and a 100% year over year gain.
 
dandirk said:
Except for the fact that iOS is still a better platform to dev for.

The piracy rate on android is pretty insane numerous cases of 90+% install base are pirated... I have tried to refute or disbelieve but can't find any evidence this is not the case.
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B.S.
 
heatlesssun said:
The best aspect ratio for a tablet I think is 16:10 overall, not as good for reading perhaps has 4:3 but much better for video.
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I have a tv for watching video. For reading and just holding, the 4:3 ratio is the best.
 
DPI said:
Not sure why the need to inject MS minutiae about an article where its a nonfactor but as long as you are, sure, when a company starts from zero and then sells 10 tablets I guess some would call that massive growth and a 100% year over year gain.
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The underlying Gartner report summary that this thread is based on mentions Windows and Windows hardware extensively, this is how that summary ends:

"Although there were few models available last year, the hybrid form factor was the fastest growing category in 2013. Hybrid ultramobiles attracted users' attention because the keyboard offers better use of productivity applications and benefits from a tablet form factor," said Ms, Cozza. ASUS was the leader in the hybrid ultramobile segment in 2013, due to stronger sales of its Transformer Book T100.

Gartner expects replacement buyers to start upgrading to hybrid ultramobiles that will be introduced into the market from 2014, satisfying users who no longer want to deal with owning multiple devices or who want to keep up with the latest computing trend. "There is an opportunity here for hybrid ultramobiles to marry the functionality of a PC and a tablet, and they will also prove to be an attractive alternative replacement product among businesses," said Ms. Cozza.
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http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2674215
 
It really is amazing how myopic Internet commentary can be. You're on the greatest repository of information in human history, and this is the result.

This thread delivers.
 
Lebowski said:
I have a tv for watching video. For reading and just holding, the 4:3 ratio is the best.
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I have no issues reading on or holding a 1280x800 8" Dell Venue 8 Pro, indeed the screen is actually quite nice to read I think. And I also have a large screen to watch video on, but those aren't exactly as portable when away from home.
 
dandirk said:
Except for the fact that iOS is still a better platform to dev for.

The piracy rate on android is pretty insane numerous cases of 90+% install base are pirated... I have tried to refute or disbelieve but can't find any evidence this is not the case.
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90% of app installs are side loaded? I can count the number of side loaded apps ive installed on 1 hand, and those are from non app store apk's.

Still a least its not quite like the dark ages where a company would make an ios app and have android coming soon, then make it only for 2.3.3 from 2011 and never update it, ever. Why in 2013 with like 80% of your fan base is on android, and you still half ass the app or never make it in the first place.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
No, no, no, and no! 8 inches is not at all a sweet spot. :mad: Until you've had to handle 8 inches, 11 inches, and 10 inches on a regular basis, you would never understand. Seriously, there are only so many people who can find a place to stuff that many inches. Almost everyone will be disappointed to find that, after putting their Nexus someplace, that there just isn't enough depth and a couple inches are left hanging out with nowhere to go unless you push and shove and cram to the point that you might hurt yourself or someone else by accident and that ruins it for everyone. When it comes to a person's Nexus, 8 inches is NOT a sweet spot and never will be. Call me back when the get it down to 6 inches with like a reasonable amount of girth so it fits snugly in your hands without straining and then we can talk about sweet spots.
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What you did there...I see it.

359.gif



kirbyrj said:
Ummm...I would buy an 8" Nexus. I would throw a 6" Nexus away just so you couldn't have it :p.
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Joke-Goes-Over-Your-Head-Star-Trek-Gif.gif
 
Both the Android and iPad people in my family are grabbing sub $100 Android tablets (7"-8") by the boatload for the kids to play with. The kids are learning Android, not iOS, so making cheap tablets to get them into the hands of the kids now is going to pay off in the long run.
I've flashed close to 20 tablets with clean installs and Apex launcher for the kids in my family in the past year alone and about a dozen in the year before that.
It doesn't matter how well they're made, they're going to kids and no parent in their right mind is going to give an overpriced Apple tablet to someone that loves to drop things.
I like how lightweight my 7" and the weight of my 10" tablet kind of drove me to it.
My 7" is great for reading, but for games and web browsing I prefer my 8" tablet. The 10" tablet has a dock and has become my media center, just load cartoons on it for the kids and open MX player and let them go or let them stream Netflix or HBO Go on it.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
No, no, no, and no! 8 inches is not at all a sweet spot. :mad: Until you've had to handle 8 inches, 11 inches, and 10 inches on a regular basis, you would never understand. Seriously, there are only so many people who can find a place to stuff that many inches. Almost everyone will be disappointed to find that, after putting their Nexus someplace, that there just isn't enough depth and a couple inches are left hanging out with nowhere to go unless you push and shove and cram to the point that you might hurt yourself or someone else by accident and that ruins it for everyone. When it comes to a person's Nexus, 8 inches is NOT a sweet spot and never will be. Call me back when the get it down to 6 inches with like a reasonable amount of girth so it fits snugly in your hands without straining and then we can talk about sweet spots.
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Confession of a failed porn star :p
 
thejokker said:
Apple is great at designing interfaces but not much else. Same thing happened with PC's. Without Steve Jobs they are finished...
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This is not right, apple is good at opening up a market because they are 1 company that controls the hardware and software and puts all their bets on a single device. It's just like playing poker early in the game at various tables a lot of guys make it to the second or third round by going all in early. But in the long term that won't work. They also generated a ton of hype and have always had that. Remember back when they made the fruity imacs? seriously almost no one bought that junk but you saw it all over the media. In fact no one even talks about tons of apple products that never went anywhere but had way more publicity than any other company could ever dream of. If any other company had that much publicity all the time they could probably do more. You NEVER , EVER saw a single hiccup in the media about Archos ARM based tablets that were very similar to the iPad and released years before it. Not a peep. How could they sell the device or get developer support when they couldn't even get apple sucking media outlets like engadget to pump up their products. In fact seriously go look at archos and you will know who apple was copying.

Interface, lol you have got to be kidding there is not a single interesting thing in the apple interface its a grid of icons exactly like a black berry and pretty much any other device before it. I am so bewildered by people who keep talking about the apple interface. ROFL mobile devices do not have interfaces every app is full screen, you have like 1-3 buttons, lol.
 
mi7chy said:
Good to know people are getting smarter and realizing Apple is overpriced junk designed for early obsolescence.
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People aren't getting smarter, there are just budget options out there.

With Android tablets you are spending less but you're also getting slower hardware and a very inferior tablet optimized software library. That gap still hasn't closed, tablet apps are still iOS priority first by a longshot and everything else second.

The gap is so big its like the difference between Windows and Linux.
 
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