The war between iOS and Android-powered devices continues onward. First, battle lines were drawn with Android slowly overtaking the smartphone market, and now, according to a new report from IDC, it’s happening with tablets.
Posted by Digital Trends, the report shows that, despite the introduction of new iPad models, Apple’s share of the tablet market has dropped from 29.2 percent last year to 22.8 percent this year. Even though exact percentages weren’t reported, it appears that Android tablets are picking up that slack, followed by Windows-enabled tablets and other devices.
That’s not to say that the Android market is completely dominant, as Samsung experienced a slight drop as well over the past year with tablet sales, going from 19.3 percent down to 18.3 percent.
It’s not all bad news for Apple, though. “Although the low-cost vendors are moving a lot of volume, the top vendors, like Apple, continue to rake in the dollars,” said Jitesh Ubrani, Senior Research Analyst at IDC. “A sub-$100 tablet simply isn’t sustainable – Apple knows this — and it’s likely the reason they aren’t concerned with market share erosion.”
When it comes to customer satisfaction, though, Apple isn’t the only game in town. Amazon has managed to top the company with a rating of 827 (out of 1,000) in a report published by JD Power. Apple was closely behind with 824, though, while Samsung was behind in third with 821. A close race, indeed.
“As value-priced tablet brands continue to flood the market, customer attention is turning away from just the price of the device to their perception of the combined value of price, features and performance,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of telecommunications services at JD Power. “Tablet brands that continue to successfully convey more value and package more performance at a reasonable price are more likely to satisfy tablet owners and increase loyalty and advocacy for the brand.”
Will next year be the deciding factor when it comes to the power of Android tablets Or does Apple have something up its sleeve to possibly retake the market The next few months will certainly tell an interesting story.
