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Topic: Mobility

IDC: Tablets surged worldwide in Q1; 'Have shown no sign of slowing down'

Summary: Apple continues to lead in global tablet shipments, but Samsung and Asus posted incredible growth annually.

Rachel King

By for Between the Lines |

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Things are looking up for the tablet market in a big way as the International Data Corporation reported a surge for the industry worldwide during the first quarter of 2013.

The market intelligence firm found that global tablet shipments grew by 142.4 percent year-over-year during Q1 with 49.2 million units.

Quite simply, analysts asserted that "tablets have shown no sign of slowing down."

The IDC's latest report on the tablet market sharply contrasts the one it published about the traditional PC industry a few weeks ago.

According to the April survey, worldwide PC shipments plunged by 14 percent during the first quarter of 2013, which was said to be the worst drop in a generation.

As for the tablet providers, Apple remained on top during Q1 with 19.5 million units shipped, which apparently surprised IDC analysts.

Tom Mainelli, a research director covering tablets at IDC, explained in the report that analysts left room while the world waits for the next iPad and iPad mini.

IDC analysts also highlighted growth for Microsoft, in particular, which entered the top five for the first time with nearly 900,000 units shipped.

Naturally, that's thanks to last fall's debut of Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets.

Acknowledging a bit of a struggle for Surface at the start, Ryan Reith, a program manager for IDC's Mobility Tracker program, explained a little bit more about where Microsoft might be headed next quarter:

Recent rumors have circulated about the possibility of smaller screen Windows RT and Windows 8 tablets hitting the market. However, the notion that this will be the saving grace is flawed. Clearly the market is moving toward smart 7-8 inch devices, but Microsoft's larger challenges center around consumer messaging and lower cost competition. If these challenges are addressed, along with the desired screen size variations, then we could see Microsoft make even further headway in 2013 and beyond.

A few other shining stars that IDC analysts didn't remark on much in the report were Samsung and Asus. Coming in second and third respectively, tablet manufacturers posted annual growth of 282.6 percent and 350 percent during the first quarter.

Chart via IDC

Topics: Mobility, Hardware, Tablets, Tech Industry

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12 comments
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  • Then why is web usage down?

    Down a bit for iOS and it has fallen off the earth for Android.I personally think the channel is very full of tablets (both iPad and especially "others") and the next quarter will be a bad quarter for tablets.

    And yes, I am a believer in tablets but usage is down compared to desktops.
    Bruizer
    Reply 2 Votes

    • Not true...

      There are now 2 conflicting reports...

      1 shows iOS with more and the other Shows Android with double and growing.

      Truth is, we will never know but, pretty much every post I make on here is from Android.
      slickjim
      Reply Vote

      • No report shows Android tablet usage > iOS.

        That simple slick. Web usage from tablets when compared to other desktop OSes is down for April. IDC/Gartner/NDP reports are little more than garbage with made up data depending on what company commishend the report.

        http://gs.statcounter.com/chart.php?bar=1&statType_hidden=os&region_hidden=ww&granularity=monthly&statType=Operating%20System&region=Worldwide&fromMonthYear=2013-04&toMonthYear=2013-04&csv=1

        And NetMarketShare provide much better insight into what is going on. StatCounter is nice because it does not weight data and provides region/date information for free. Likewise, it has a much larger network.

        The issue is actual tablet usage is falling with Android simply plummeting having lost 30-40% in a single month. iPad usage is also down but not as drastically as Android. This data does not jibe with reports of PC market collapse and MS's recent earnings. Given the choice of real data VS pipe dream data made up by people that have been mostly wrong in the past, I will take the real data.
        Bruizer
        Reply Vote

  • Calling Lovedog Rabidson!

    Don't the Dimdows fanbois keep insisting tablets are nothing but a fad? (Alternating between that and insisting that Microsoft will dominate them regardless.)
    ldo17
    Reply 2 Votes

    • Dimdows? Lovedog Rabidson?

      Are you 4-years old?

      Grow up.
      ForeverCookie
      Reply 3 Votes

    • Calling Idol17 Rabidude

      Nice try - So you fanbois keep dwelling on some statement that someone made that "tablets are nothing but a fad", but we understand that it's a nice way to not have to acknowledge the fact that MS went from nothing to 5th largest tablet vendor in such a short period.(Alternating between that and insisting that Microsoft will be dead in 6 months regardless.)
      William Farrel
      Reply 3 Votes

  • Re: units shipped

    So, how many sold?
    danbi
    Reply Vote

    • Good Question

      Where do they get these numbers? How can they know how many were shipped?

      One might think Apple's pipeline is more sparse and that sales are closer to shipped, but all these numbers are guesstimates, a fact that the journalists never mention.

      19.5 million is the number that Apple reported sold for the quarter. Is IDC mixing in oranges with these apples?
      prowe99@...
      Reply 2 Votes

  • why was microsoft even given a color in the legend

    There's absolutely nothing on the chart! I guess it was to make an embarassing point.
    DrWong
    Reply 1 Vote

    • DrWong, it appears you need glasses

      There are clearly two red areas on the chart.

      Or were you trying to make a funny? ;)
      William Farrel
      Reply 1 Vote

  • IDC: Tablets surged worldwide in Q1; 'Have shown no sign of slowing down'

    IDC must have some bad data or are pulling data out of thin air. I would like to know where all these tablets are because I'm not seeing them. I see one or two in the public but that's about it. If the tablet sector was growing as fast as they would like us to believe then I should be seeing a lot more. Even at the local Best Buy people are just walking by them and going over to the laptops and PCs. Manufacturers are building these tablets faster than consumers are buying them and that is why it appears tablets are growing. A little bit of manipulation on IDC's part. Soon the manufacturers will realize their mistake and tablet production will decrease dramatically.
    Loverock-Davidson
    Reply Vote

  • This can't be right. Mr BlackBerry just told us

    yesterday that tablets would be dead in 5 years. Meanwhile everyone else predicts they'll surpass laptops, ultrabooks, and desktops combined. Sell whatever BB you have left if you've been a Klingon. BB10 and Q10 are flailing.
    Johnny Vegas
    Reply 1 Vote
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