According to a recent report by StrategyAnalytics – a research and analytics firm – FY16 was quite an eventful period for the great tablet giants.
The incumbents – Apple, Google and Google’s OEMs – witnessed a double-digit decline in growth; 19% for Apple, and 10% for Samsung, Google’s largest Android OEM.
Android, of course, has the biggest share of the pie; Apple lost 2.6% of the market share, while Google suffered a blow of 2% as well. Microsoft, however, is the star of the show.
Windows’s market share in the tablet market went up by 4.2%; where Apple went into negative numbers with -19% growth, and Android with -10% growth, Microsoft’s endeavors witnessed a 19% growth upwards.
Not just Microsoft
Microsoft’s success in the tablet market isn’t surprising; the focus on the touchscreen form factor began with Windows 8 and continued to be a focus in Windows 10.
The ability to run actual desktop apps on a tablet is also noteworthy, as none of the competition offers anything like it.
Microsoft, however, wasn’t the only one who grew; Amazon’s Kindle tablets beat all of its competitors and witnessed a 21% growth.
The Slowdown
Microsoft’s 16% market share is not very far from Apple’s 20.6%; Google’s Android – despite its 2% drop – still claims 63% of the market share.
The overall tablet market, however, is seeing a declining trend; a total of 69.6 million units were sold in FY15, but that figure dropped by 9% to 63.5 million in FY16.
This, per the report, is because of the 2-in-1 market; hybrid laptops that can quickly turn into a tablet are seeing an increase in demand, reducing the demand for tablets.
Since the overall tablet market is witnessing a slowdown; hopefully the 2-in-1 market will emerge as a victor. Windows, of course, will be the winner there – that’s what laptops come with, after all.
