Is Google Losing Grip On Tablet Market?
by Gavin O’Malley, Staff Writer @mp_gavin, August 2, 2016
New research from IDC suggests that Google is losing its grip on the tablet market as its Android vendor list contracts, and — hedging against the decline of Android slates — champions of the OS increasingly offer Windows-based products.
“The market has spoken as consumers and enterprises seek more productive form factors and operating systems,” Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers, notes in a new report. “It’s the reason we’re seeing continued growth in detachables.”
“At present, it’s difficult for Android to compete with iOS or Windows detachable products,” Ubrani adds. “However, the next 12 to 18 months will be very interesting as Google launches the next version of Android with better multitasking support, and as they begin to bring together their two operating systems.”
Despite the continued decline in slates, the form factor still accounts for over three-quarters of the market.
Moreover, an overwhelming majority of tablets shipped this past quarter were Android-based systems (65%) followed by iOS, which captured 26%, and Windows for the remaining share.
More broadly, worldwide tablet shipments — including slates and detachables — reached 38.7 million in the second quarter of 2016, according to preliminary data from IDC.
That means growth continued to decline, with the market receding 12.3% year-over-year.
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