The tablet market continues to show strong worldwide growth – surging by 142.4% year on year in the first quarter of 2013.
Preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker shows that:
- Tablet shipments totaled 49.2 million units in the first quarter of 2013,
- First quarter shipments surpassed that of the entire first half of 2012 and
- fueled by increased market demand for smaller screen devices, tablet sales show no sign of slowing down.
Tom Mainelli, Research Director, Tablets at IDC, said: “Sustained demand for the iPad mini and increasingly strong commercial shipments led to a better-than expected first quarter for Apple.
“In addition, by moving the iPad launch to the fourth quarter of 2012, Apple seems to have avoided the typical first-quarter slowdown that traditionally occurred when consumers held off buying in January and February in anticipation of a new product launch in March.”
The IDC Tablet Tracker also showed that Microsoft entered the top five for the first time as shipments of its Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets combined for a total of nearly 900,000 units.
Top Five Tablet Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, First Quarter 2013 (Shipments in millions)
| Vendor |
1Q13 Unit Shipments |
1Q13 Market Share |
1Q12 Unit Shipments |
1Q12 Market Share |
Year-over-Year Growth |
| 1. Apple |
19.5 |
39.6% |
11.8 |
58.1% |
65.3% |
| 2. Samsung |
8.8 |
17.9% |
2.3 |
11.3% |
282.6% |
| 3. ASUS |
2.7 |
5.5% |
0.6 |
3.1% |
350.0% |
| 4. Amazon.com Inc. |
1.8 |
3.7% |
0.7 |
3.6% |
157.1% |
| 5. Microsoft |
0.9 |
1.8% |
0.0 |
N/A |
N/A |
| Others |
15.5 |
31.5% |
4.9 |
24.1% |
216.3% |
| Total |
49.2 |
100.0% |
20.3 |
100.0% |
142.4% |
Source: IDC Worldwide Tablet Tracker, May 1, 2013.