IT MAY HAVE taken longer than expected, but Android tablets finally overtook the iPad in market share in 2013.
Research from Gartner found that more than 120 million Android tablets were sold during 2013, giving it 62 per cent of the market.
In comparison, Apple’s iPad sold 70 million units, which meant it has 36 per cent of the market.
Microsoft saw modest growth as well, but it only accounts for 2 per cent of the overall market as it sold just over four million Windows 8 tablets last year.
The biggest winner from this was Samsung which saw a major increase in the number of tablets sold. It sold 37 million tablets last year compared to the eight million it sold in 2012.
That’s slightly more than half of the number of iPads sold in 2013, making Apple the most popular tablet manufacturer in the world.
Gartner says that the reasons for Android taking the top spot was because of the low-end smaller screen tablet market, and first time buyers looking for cheaper devices.
While the reasons behind the increase was expected, what is surprising is how long it’s taken to reach this point, considering the number of companies out there making low and mid-range Android tablets.
While the number of tablets sold means that Android is the more popular platform used, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it translates to large profits for manufacturers. Google, however, won’t care as it Android is now first in an industry that was previously dominated by Apple.
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