Research firm IDC has increased their projections for tablet shipments this year by a whopping 9% to 117.1 million units. They noted in a press release that the bump up is caused by “continued robust consumer demand, and strong expectations for the fourth quarter.” Based on those numbers they subsequently increased their forecast for 2013 to hit 142.8 million tablets shipped, plus estimating by 2016 there’ll be 261.4 million tablets shipped.
IDC is predicting that Apple’s iOS (iPad) will continue to lead over the years, but in 2012 will capture 59.9% of the market. Android-based tablets will secure 35.3% market share, a decline of about 3%. Windows-based tablets – specifically Windows 8 – is estimated to snatch up 4.1% of the market and take Android’s piece of the pie, up 3% over the year. Of course, all these are estimates.
Several new tablets have been recently announced, Google’s Nexus 7, Microsoft’s Windows 8 Surface, RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook 4G LTE, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1. In addition, Apple is expected to announce a smaller iPad – potentially called the iPad mini – with a screen size of 7.85-inches in October.
Tom Mainelli of IDC stated that “Apple leads the market with its iPad, and we expect its dominance to continue in the second half of the year. Still, we believe there is room in the market for others to find success, and new Android- and Windows-based products shipping in the coming months will give consumers plenty of buying options during the holiday season.”
