Apple, Samsung, Huawei, and Microsoft all had “excellent” fourth quarters when it comes to tablet sales, and all three vendors showed growth for the full year as the tablet market shows signs of recovery, according to Strategy Analytics.
Global tablet market shipments contracted just 1% in the fourth quarter of 2018 and ended the year 6% lower at 173.8 million units, adds the research group. iPad shipments grew 10% year-on-year to 14.5 million units in quarter four, pushing Apple’s worldwide market share to 26% of the tablet market.
By growing double digits, Apple added two percentage points to its market share year-over-year. Strategy Analytics says the tech giant is attempting to remake the computing market with more mobile iPad Pros for productivity while offering lower priced iPad slates for entertainment.
The product mix tilted toward iPad Pro due to the launch of its newest products in that line and boosted average selling prices to $463 this quarter, up from $445 in 2017.
Meanwhile, Android shipments fell to 32.9 million units worldwide in the fourth quarter, down 6% from 34.9 million a year earlier and up 35% sequentially. Market share fell three percentage points year-on-year to 60% as many branded Android vendors find it very difficult to compete on price in the wake of Apple lowering its iPad prices, according to Strategy Analytics.
