2013 will be the year that shipments of Android tablets surpass those of Apple’s iPad, says a new analysis from IDC.
IDC’s newest report sees smaller, lower-priced Android devices accounting for 48.8 percent of total tablet shipments for 2013, while Apple’s iPad will slip from a 51 percent share in 2012 to 46 percent.
Tablets running Microsoft’s Windows 8 and Windows RT operating systems are expected to account for 2.8 and 1.9 percent of 2013 shipments, respectively.
The report also gives glimpse at what it says will be the market in 2017, and as such, it holds a glimmer of hope for the folks from Redmond. By 2017, Windows 8 tablets may achieve a 7.4% share, while Windows RT tablets should hold 2.7% of the market. This share would come out of both Android and iOS tablets cut, dropping them to 46% and 43.5% shares, respectively.
This report shows the forecasted effect of the continuing crowding of the tablet market. It should be noted that the report focuses on tablet shipments, not tablet sales. There is no accurate way to calculate the numbers of tablets actually in consumers hands, as Apple is the only tablet manufacturer to regularly report its actual sales numbers.
