Android tablet shipments will exceed iPad

According to foreign media reports, IDC’s latest forecast report has increased its originally forecasted growth rate of global tablet shipments by 10.7% in 2013 and expects that Android will surpass Apple’s iOS to become the dominant tablet operation. system.

IDC increased the growth rate of global tablet shipments in 2013 by 4% three months ago, from the original forecast of 165.9 million units to 172.4 million units. IDC’s new forecast released on Tuesday increased the global growth rate of tablet PC shipments by 10.7% in 2013, from 172.4 million units forecasted three months ago to 190.9 million units.

IDC claims that one of the two tablets shipped this quarter is an 8-inch or smaller tablet. Apple introduced the 7.9-inch iPad Mini tablet into this market last October. To some extent, the iPad Mini severely undercuts Apple’s sales of large-size iPads.

Even when the iPad Mini was launched, analysts criticized Apple for insisting on its high pricing model. The iPad Mini starts at $329, while Google's Nexus 7 tablet is 40% cheaper and costs $199.

IDC analyst Tom Mainelli said that the iPad Mini will not keep Apple in the lead in 2013. This trend has already emerged. 2013 will be Android for the first time in the market over iOS.

IDC’s report stated that in 2013 Android tablets will account for 48.8% of all tablet shipments, slightly ahead of iOS’s 46% market share. In 2012, IDC had predicted that Android Tablet PC accounted for 42.7% of market share in 2013, while iOS accounted for 53.8%. The new forecast shows that as the market rankings of the two have changed, iOS has dropped by 8 percentage points, while Android has increased by 6 percentage points.

IDC predicts that in the next five years, iOS's market share will continue to decline. Android's market share will also decline because Windows begins to seize their market share. In 2017, Android's market share will be 46%, iOS's market share will be 43.5%, and Windows' market share will account for 10.1%.