IDC says shipments were down 12.6% year on year in Q3, with 48.7 million units shipped worldwide.
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At the end of 2014, IDC estimated the installed base of tablets to be 581.9 million globally, which was up 36% from 2013 but slowing quickly.
The firm cites two main reasons for the continued decline in sales.
But even Apple is feeling the pain, as sales of the iPad [pictured] declined nearly 20 percent year-over-year. Indeed, if we look at something like the iPad mini family, most people will agree that judged by its own merits, it’s a compelling device, but it’s hard to see where Apple’s tiny tablet fits in when devices like the iPhone 6s Plus and Note 5 exist.
“We continue to get feedback that tablet users are holding onto devices upwards of four years”, IDC program director Ryan Reith said in a statement. “As the smartphone installed base continues to grow and the devices get bigger and more capable, the need for smaller form factor slate tablets becomes less clear”.
For three consecutive quarters, the PC market had experienced a negative growth and the same has been repeated this previous quarter too, leading to four quarters of continuous PC market depression. The vendor held 16.5% market share in Q3.
Data provided by IDC discloses that Apple’s market share in 3QFY15 was 20.3%, down 19.7% YoY from the 22.1% market share it had in the same time past year. In particular, the mix of traditional PC OEMs that are evolving their portfolios to include detachables will face pressure from the traditional smartphone OEMs, many of which have become accustomed to delivering extremely low-priced products. However, this quarter the vendor has struggled to maintain momentum in the detachable market as its refresh (earlier this year) of the Transformer lineup hasn’t been as successful and, more importantly, other vendors have been able to offer similar devices at comparable price points. “Although iPad shipment declines do not make for good headlines, the fact that Apple continues to lead in this market speaks volumes”, commented Tim Coulling, Canalys, an independent analyst company, Senior Analyst.
Rounding out the top five vendors, China’s Lenovo came in third place in Q3 with 6.3% market share.
Still, IDC said that the introduction of the iPad Pro could help juice sales in the upcoming quarters, thanks to an increased focus on productivity devices. Mr. Tom Mainelli, Program Vice President, Devices & Displays at IDC, chipped in with his thoughts regarding the issue, sounding cautiously optimistic about the prospects of the tablet sector over the next few quarters.
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Long lifecycles and improvements in smartphones are behind the trend, IDC said.
