New data from IDC shows Apple’s iPad still leads in worldwide tablet shipments in Q4 of 2012, but dipped in overall marketshare amid stronger sales by rival Samsung.
For the December quarter, Apple’s iPad shipments grew 48.1 percent year-over year to 22.9 million units, while shipments from Samsung skyrocketed 263 percent to reach 7.9 million units over the same period. It should be noted that Samsung’s numbers include combined sales of the company’s Android and Windows 8 products, and Apple’s shipments included all iPad models.
The preliminary data is from IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker. The 51.5 million tablets shipped was a 75.3% year-to-year increase, up from 29.9 million units during the same time last year. The growth is thought to have been driven by lower average selling prices for devices, and increased consumer holiday spending.
IDC’s numbers are in line with Apple’s statement of 22.9 million iPads sold over the quarter.
“New product launches from the category’s top vendors, as well as new entrant Microsoft, led to a surge in consumer interest and very robust shipments totals during the holiday season,” said IDC Research Director of Tablets, Tom Mainelli. “The record-breaking quarter stands in stark contrast to the PC market, which saw shipments decline during the quarter for the first time in more than five years.”
Even though the iPad line saw its marketshare decline for the second quarter in a row, the iPad and iPad mini still accounted for the majority of tablet shipments with a 43.6% share. Samsung was a distant second with 15.1%, and Amazon’s Kindle accounted for 11.5% of the market. Asus saw a huge 402.5% boost year-to-year with shipments of 3. million units, but still dropped in marketshare from 7.8% down to 5.8%.
Where was Microsoft’s Surface in all of this? The tablet faied to break into the top five as it shipped just 900,000 units after launching in late October.
