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Study Shows Android Tablet Market Share Jumping to 48%, iPad Down To 52%

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Apple’s foothold over the tablet market may finally be slipping. According to new data by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, Android tablet market share has finally risen to a respectable 48%, with around 21% of that due to Kindle Fire sales. Apple’s iPad slipped from 81% the previous year, down to only 52% this year even after a successful iPad 3 launch.

Although it can be argued that the Amazon’s Kindle Fire isn’t really an Android tab — even though it technically runs on the OS, the absence of the Play Store and Google services places it in a strange category of its own. Keep in mind this data doesn’t yet factor in Nexus 7 or the new line of Kindle Fire HD’s, but we are confident this number will skyrocket by the end of this year, moving into 2013. Apple execs must be so pissed right now.

[Pew | Via 9t05Google]

 

Chris Chavez
I've been obsessed with consumer technology for about as long as I can remember, be it video games, photography, or mobile devices. If you can plug it in, I have to own it. Preparing for the day when Android finally becomes self-aware and I get to welcome our new robot overlords.

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53 Comments

  1. This should come as a surprise to no one.

  2. With the likes of the Nook Tablet HD/+ and the NExus 7 along with the new kindle line we can easily see android overtaking iOS Tablets starting next year I think

    1. Nexus 7 wasn’t even included in the survey. Its too new. I would bet Android has already overtaken apple.

  3. This has to be wrong. Only extreme tech geeks (where I live) use Android tablets (me being one of them).

    1. but Pew is as mainstream as white bread and butter.

    2. I have two cousins that own iPads. My wife owns a TF300, I own a TF700, my daughter has a Toshiba thrive, son has a Kindle Fire. Brother owns a Nexus 7, one of my Aunt’s has a Prime and my father and his sister also have TF101s. Few others in the family have Kindle Fires as well. Now, obviously going by these stats that is not the norm but this is all, more or less, within the last 12 months.

      Forgot to mention, my cousin has the Galaxy tab 2 10.1, and she’s a big Apple fan. /shrug

  4. How do you like them apples, Apple.

    1. So you think that the Kindle, being sold at a loss is a slap in Apple’s face? Keep drinking your brand of Kool-aid. Last time I checked, Apple’s the only one raking in all the profits.

      How’s those apples now?

      1. Yes, we’ll see how long Apples current strategy works for them. Apparently, with Apple, history is bound to repeat it’s self. If Apple doesn’t change their ways soon, they will end up right back where they fell last time.

        1. That’s the most idiotic thing I’ve heard all day.

        2. They are changing their ways: Apple Maps, purple camera haze, scuffed up phones, no interesting feature that every Android user would want to have. This is a very different Apple and no, it is not ‘normal’

          1. Haha Apple is for morons who don’t know better lol

      2. Yeah thats right, rape the consumer so you can profit, and profit again off of all the online store purchases. Sure there are iSheep, but apparently not everyone is stupid. That massive change in percent is the tell tale sign of that. Just wait for it. Some day Google will rule the world.

      3. Yeah, but all the money Amazon is making off selling their digital services was enough to warrant new updated models.

        The Kindle Fire is nothing more than a way for Amazon to gain market share, and sell people their digital goods. I think there’s no question it’s been doing pretty well for them.

        1. See, even Chris agrees, therefore I win.

      4. Marketshare is very important to Android and it will get it by offering low end as well as high end tablets so that there is something for everyone.

      5. This logic never makes sense to me. You’re defending Apple by saying how much money it takes from it’s customers. Only an investor can be happy with that, certainly not someone who purchases Apple products.

        Gosh, I’m so glad that Apple takes so much of my money for their products!

        1. Yes I was just thinking the same. Apple fanboys defends Apple by arguing how much money Apple makes!? It is silly. We are consumers not investors. Maybe I should buy all my consumer goods from companies who make the largest profits or what? Are the seven sisters good companies for the consumers because of all the money they make? It is because Apple products are overpriced that they make so much money. Who would defend Microsoft because of its profits? Brainwashed people are talking obviously.

      6. A company making big piles of money is good for the shareholders, and BAD for the customers. That profit has become the go to argument for Apple fanboys speaks volumes on both the product and the intelligence of the fanboys.

      7. I like those apples even better now.
        Android is bringing tablets to everyone. The fact that people can buy a useful tablet for less than $100 is wonderful. It is breaking down the so-called digital divide. It means, for instance, that kids in the third world can enjoy the benefits of computing for education and fun.
        Apple, by selling tablets that are more expensive than the average laptop, are doing nothing in that direction. Their extremely high profit margins are just exploiting naive customers, and they aren’t even benefiting shareholders, since Apple almost never pays out dividends.

      8. its called a loss leader…. something you lose money on to MAKE more money elsewhere. i can promise you that in the grand scheme of things, amazon is making a lot of money on the fire…. somehting apple CANT do (as easily) with the ipad and HAS to make money on the hardware.

        Now go choke on a banana…

  5. These stats do not pass the common sense test. I seriously doubt the accuracy.
    (I own the nexus 7. But I see what is on use in the real world – apple still has more market share than these stats reveal)

    1. You under estimate the number of Kindle and Nook tablets that are in use. (Asus Transformer X tablets can probably be added to that as well – I know more people with a version of the transformer than I do iPad)

      1. Asus tablets are a drop in the proverbial bucket.

    2. Common sense would suggest android tablets would beat ipads just as android phones were able to beat iphones. Most people can’t afford to pay up for an iPad but there are cheaper android options.

    3. wikipedia says there’s 84 million ipads. so, if it owns 52% of the market, then there’s 161 million tablets out there somewhere, and 77 million are android. coming from amazon, barnes and noble, asus, samsung, htc.

      amazon sold 5 million last holiday season? probably another 15 this year. that’s 20 million, just for amazon. it’s not a far stretch of the imagination that this is accurate data.

  6. While I understand-and agree to an extent about the Kindle not really being an Android tablet, there’s no difference in the development process for an app, whether it’s in the Amazon Market or play store. Root it and you can load the play store as well.

    1. True. Good for developers building apps, and for Google since an built app will eventually head into the Play Store as well. I think that’s why Google doesn’t mind so much what Amazon is doing…

      1. Are you sure that Google doesn’t mind?
        In my opinion they mind but Android’s open-source and Amazon isn’t a member of the OHA, so as long as the Kindle Fire doesn’t come with Google apps, Google doesn’t have a say.
        To me the Nexus 7 is the proof that they mind, isn’t it?

        1. When you make something open source and let people come out with all kinds of crazy things, you make your code the standard. Android is about stopping Microsoft from getting a foothold, even more than Apple. It’s much easier for Google to let Samsung make fun of Apple than go after Microsoft directly.

          1. Google allows it for sure, but that doesn’t mean they like it. when someone uses the amazon store, they aren’t using the play store. when someone isn’t allowed to use the play store, there’s no money for Google. Google would absolutely love to get money from all those tablets through the users interacting with their commerce sites.

  7. Reading the source article more carefully I see why the stats seem way off. This is the result of a “Survey”, not real market data. I would not give much credit to these stats.

    1. but… but… its on the internet! It must be true! =D

    2. Properly done surveys mathematically must end up being correct within a 3% margin or error. As long as you have a sample field of 1500 random people, you’ve hit that. It’s weird, but even if you increase the number 10-fold, you don’t get a notable change in the margin or error. Even if you surveyed half the people on the planet, you’d still have like a 2% margin of error, so this form of survey is going to be pretty darn accurate, especially as the Pew group is very well respected in the survey field.

  8. Google TV STBs made by Motorola, with features the Nexus Q had, and Google Chrome browser, Use your Android Smartphone as a remote for your STBs.

    Features:
    1. Interact with your favorite TV channels through your Android smartphone.
    2. Use your Android smartphone to talk to your STBs.
    Available Commands:

    “Channel *Number/Name of Channel*”
    “Volume *Number” “Volume Mode *Night/Sports/Movie/Game/Music*”
    “OPEN *Play Music, Play Movies, Play TV, Play Apps, Youtube, Chrome*”
    “Search *Say your search*”
    3. Click info on your remote and get channel info along with a QR Code for the currently viewed channels Android App.

    Available to all Google FIOS subscribers.

    Take over the TV industry. There could be so many possibilities. They also need to take over the PC industry.

  9. It has began…ha ha ha

  10. I think Android Tablets went up because of the Nexus 7. I saw a guy next to me in class and another girl in the same class with some Nexus 7s. brought a smile to my face :’)

  11. Soon… Windows 8 Pro Tablets and Hybrids are going to make a serious dent. Full Google Chrome with extensions and full Adobe Flash, full Microsoft Excel.

    Screw these toys! I want a tablet with x86 chips (maybe x64 would be more accurate)

    1. Those apps aren’t designed for a touch interface. It’s controls that’s the problem, not OS or x86.

      1. Metro UI and the metro store are made for Touchscreens and then you have the tradtional desktop for when you dock the device into a keyboard and with the microsoft surfaces coming with keyboard smart covers you will alweays have a keyboard with you for the desktop use. Gives you a proper desktop and desktop apps for x86 along with touch enabled homescreen and touch based apps with the metro apps.

        1. But isn’t that basically like a laptop without a hard drive? I want to see powerful apps but I want them to utilize the touch interface and stylus (such as on the Samsung Note)
          Even worse, it sounds like you’ll have to be in one interface to use your facebook metro app that you want to use right now and then switch to a completely different interface to use your other apps. It’s not a coherent solution.

          1. Yeah having to be stuck in either metro land or the desktop without being to access your metro apps alongside your desktop apps does suck. I agree with you there. From what I know you can hook up a standard external HDD to the microsoft surface pro unless I am mistaken about that. On top of that there is this “Microsoft puts forward better memory options with the Surface tablets. The device comes in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB options. The 128GB is available only with Surface Pro. Further, you can expand the memory using external memory sticks thanks to microSD card slot. That is, you can store enough data including music, software items and video in external clips.”

          2. SD doesn’t help for virtual memory, which may be required by Windows apps. You need a hard drive for that.

  12. Holy crap… doesnt include Nexus 7 and Kindle HD? C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER. Get ready for a landslide change in %age’s, hahaha.

  13. Romney doesnt care about the 48%

  14. Its all about the services folks. Google and to a lesser extent (IMHO) Amazon provide value beyond the device. I love Google Play and everything else that goes along with Android.

  15. Apple execs are probably more anxious to be able to announce and release the iPad mini than they are upset over the soon to be extinguished kindle fire excitement.

    1. Oh yes, they have good reasons to be anxious. ;)
      I wonder what would be the price of an iPad Mini.

      1. Too high.

        1. if it’s more than $250 it will be too high.

    2. Apple should try fixing the problems they have with iO6 and the iphone5…..take care of the customers that got stuck with junk! Not announce something else that is just different size…..

  16. wow. weren’t “the experts” predicting that it would be 2015 before Android took the market from Apple?

  17. I guess the public enjoys having widescreen tablets instead of square 1990 style tablets. The sheep are owned AGAIN!

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