2013 was not just a great year for Android smartphones but also for tablets. According to latest data released by Gartner, Android tablets accounted for almost 62 percent of the total tablet shipments in 2013, thus overtaking iOS, which was only present on 36 percent of the shipped tablets last year. This is a big jump for Android, which grew 127 percent year-on-year basis.
“In 2013, tablets became a mainstream phenomenon, with a vast choice of Android-based tablets being within the budget of mainstream consumers while still offering adequate specifications,” said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner.
| Table 1: Worldwide Tablet Sales to End Users by Operating System, 2013 (Units) | ||||
| Operating System | 2013 Sales | 2013 Market Share (%) | 2012 Sales | 2012 Market Share (%) |
| Android | 120961445 | 61.9 | 53341250 | 45.8 |
| iOS | 70400159 | 36 | 61465632 | 52.8 |
| Microsoft | 4031802 | 2.1 | 1162435 | 1 |
| Others | 41598 | <0.1 | 379000 | 0.3 |
| Total | 195435004 | 100 | 116348317 | 100 |
| Source: Gartner (February 2014) | ||||
Gartner claims that the success of Android tablets was largely driven by demand for low-cost tablets from branded vendors and white-box tablets in emerging markets.
On the vendor front, Apple continues to top the list with 36 percent of the market and over 70 million shipments, followed by Samsung with 19.1 percent of the market share and over 37 million shipments. Other tablet vendors in the top five are Asus, Amazon and Lenovo.
| Table 2: Worldwide Tablet Sales to End Users by Vendor, 2013 (Units) | ||||
| Vendor | 2013 Sales | 2013 Market Share (%) | 2012 Sales | 2012 Market Share (%) |
| Apple | 70400159 | 36 | 61465632 | 52.8 |
| Samsung | 37411921 | 19.1 | 8583146 | 7.4 |
| ASUS | 11039156 | 5.6 | 6262371 | 5.4 |
| Amazon | 9401846 | 4.8 | 7707800 | 6.6 |
| Lenovo | 6525762 | 3.3 | 2186993 | 1.9 |
| Others | 60656161 | 31 | 30142374 | 25.8 |
| Total | 195435004 | 100 | 116348317 | 100 |
| Source: Gartner (February 2014) | ||||
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