eMarketer: iPhone market share to remain static; iPad and Apple TV share to decline

Apple’s share of smartphone users in the U.S. will remain basically static in 2017, accounting for a 43.7% share, according to a new eMarketer report. Android, by comparison, will account for 52.2% of US smartphone usage in 2017, adds the research group.

Although the number of iPad users continues to increase, eMarketer expects Apple’s share of the tablet market to steadily decline through 2021. In 2017, Apple’s share of the tablet market will be 46.7%, down from 47.8% last year.

In 2017, eMarketer estimates that 51.4% of Americans will use a tablet once a month, totaling 167.7 million people.

Apple TV is at the bottom of the US connected TV market, behind Google Chromecast and Roku, with its share shrinking, according to eMarketer. This year, 11.9% of connected TV users will subscribe to Apple TV, compared with 19.9% for Chromecast and 18.2% for Roku, according to the research group.

The Sellers Research Group (that’s me) begs to differ. I think this year’s iPhone 8 (or perhaps it will be dubbed the iPhone 10) will be revolutionary enough to jump start Apple smartphone sales. It won’t be revolutionary, but I think the 2017 iPad update will reinvigorate tablet sales. However, I think that eMarketer is right about the Apple TV unless Apple offers a vastly improved model with, say, 4K support and 4K offerings at the iTunes Store.