iPad Declines as Samsung, Lenovo Tablets Push Forward
Shipments of Apple's iPad have fallen off 13 percent so far this year. Meanwhile, according to a new report, Samsung's tablet shipments have increased 26 percent in the first half of 2014.
According to market research firm ABI Research, Apple and Samsung continued to account for roughly 70 percent of all tablet shipments in the first half of 2014. However, there is a new contender on the block.
"The roller coaster ride from the leading two tablet vendors has market watchers looking to other vendors to create sustainable growth," said ABI Senior Practice Director Jeff Orr, in a statement released to coincide with the report. "All eyes are on Lenovo as it is one of few to demonstrate consistent growth over the past year."
Additionally, ABI noted that Intel has continued to "show progress toward its goal of 40 million devices powered by its processors in 2014. While many tablets will come out in non-branded models, 2014 looks to be the tipping point for Intel's mobility processor strategy. The company has also set up market-specific relationships that should propel it forward during 2015."
"Forty million units is only a minor dent in ARM's domination of tablets, though Intel is quickly becoming a formidable applications processor architecture competitor," Orr said.
Overall, according to ABI, tablet growth for 2014 looks like it will slow to a "disappointing" 2.5 percent and fail to hit the 200 million unit milestone.