Tablet shipments slow in second quarter to 45.1 million units: IDC

Worldwide tablet shipments totaled 45.1 million units in the second quarter, up by 59.6 per cent from a year earlier, but down by 9.7 per cent from the first quarter of this year, according to estimates of a research firm.

The sequential slowdown was due to no new iPad, with Apple shipping a less-than-expected 14.6 million units in the quarter, down from 19.5 million in the first quarter, the International Data Corporation (IDC) – an American market research, analysis and advisory firm specialising in information technology, telecommunication and consumer technology –  said, adding that Apple's market share fell to 32.4 per cent from 60.3 per cent a year ago. 

Samsung's shipments also slowed, to 8.1 million from 8.6 million in the first three months of the year, giving it 18 per cent of the market. Asus shipped two million tablets in the second quarter, versus 2.6 million in the first one, giving it a 4.5 per cent market share.

Likewise, Lenovo passed a million tablets for the first time, shipping in total 1.5 million in the second quarter, giving it a market share of 3.3 per cent, whereas Acer followed with 1.4 million tablets or 3.1 per cent of the market.

Android was the leading operating system in the quarter, accounting for 62.6 per cent of tablets shipped, followed by Apple's iOS with 32.5 per cent and Windows with 4.5 per cent.