8 ms·

Android Grabs Top Spot From iPad With 62% Share of the Tablet Market

80 points by amitkumar01 13y ago

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
RyanZAG 13y ago
So the Apple fans who were telling us how poor the Android tablet experience is and that Android only beats iOS on phones because of carrier bundling appear to have been incorrect yet again. Makes for very good proof that an open ecosystem is always going to beat out a closed one in the long run.
- soulhacker 13y ago
  Depends on how you define 'beat', yes maybe.
- supercoder 13y ago
  Experience and market share are two very different things.
- k-mcgrady 13y ago
  From my comment on this thread: "I know a family member who had an iPad and used it all the time. For his next tablet he got an Android tablet and he doesn't use it at all. Why? No good apps." Android tablets are good when cost is a major consideration but if you can afford to spend an extra $100/200 I believe you'll get more value from an iPad still.
  - RyanZAG 13y ago
    So the millions of people buying Android tablets just throw their money away and never use them? Seems a bit of a stretch. Generally if a product isn't useful then people don't buy it, regardless of the price. Why doesn't your family member return the tablet if it's useless?
    - k-mcgrady 13y ago
      >> So the millions of people buying Android tablets just throw their money away and never use them? Seems a bit of a stretch. I didn't say that at all. From my personal experience it seems they get less value from them. They are certainly useful devices but I think the extra money an iPad costs provides more value than the added expense. >> Why doesn't your family member return the tablet if it's useless? He's trying to sell it.
      - Touche 13y ago
        I get the opposite impression. Because the iPad doesn't have access to the harddrive it's hard to use it outside of silo-ed app experiences. I have a catalog of cbr/cbz comic books and it's simple too much work to get them on the iPad. On the Nexus 7 I simple copy them over the network using File Explorer.
        evilduck 13y ago
        iOS apps that have file management needs work fundamentally the same as a regular file explorer: connect to iTunes, select your device, click the 'Apps' tab, scroll down to 'File Sharing', select your destination app, drag and drop files, sync. You can even do this over wifi. I guess the Android advantage is you can initiate this transfer from the device instead of the computer, but that's not really "too much work" IMO. Apps that register for opening certain file types will also be available in 'Open in' dialogs of other apps (if the developers of both apps added the same file extension) so it's easy to move files between apps. Silos for app files only exist if the developer is lazy or ignorant, the platform itself has supported file sharing between apps for years.
        Touche 13y ago
        > iOS apps that have file management needs work fundamentally the same as a regular file explorer: connect to iTunes, Wait, what? Connecting to iTunes is not part of any regular file explorer workflow. > I guess the Android advantage is you can initiate this transfer from the device instead of the computer, but that's not really "too much work" IMO. Wow, can't disagree more. That's an enormous difference. one is a computer and one is a periphery. Peripheries are fine, some people can live with just a periphery, but if you have real file management needs like the one I pointed to above, a periphery won't cut it. It's entirely too inconvenient to have to dig out the computer that has iTunes installed (for me it's 1 of 4 laptops in my house), get the files onto that computer (probably over the network) and then transfer them onto the device.
  - GFischer 13y ago
    I have an iPad, and my gf has a Google Nexus 7. We live in Uruguay, and at least for us, it makes way more sense to have an Android tablet than an Apple tablet, moastly because a lot more things are paid on the iPad, and most developers target Android first in my country because it has 90% market share. So YMMV. We also have Android phones. I think the user experience is good enough on both OS, and I'll probably buy Android for my next tablet (I got really frustrated by the iPad's limitations). Apple does have the everything-integrated experience if you buy only Apple (iMac, iPhone and iPad), but only affluent people can afford that, and I wouldn't want it even if I could afford it (which I can't).
    - NicoJuicy 13y ago
      I'm from Belgium and we're not willing to buy everything on Apple. Come on, the newest Apple computer costs like 3000 $ . Anyone who wants it, is willing to throw out cash. Even a friend of mine (who is a serieus Apple fan), is going to buy a Windows pc (but he'll keep his iPhone). I suspect that he is going to get frustrated by the frustrating experience that Apple brings on other platforms.
- lubos 13y ago
  So if open ecosystem is always going to beat a closed one, why didn't Discourse beat Facebook? Why didn't App.net beat Twitter? Why didn't Linux beat Windows on desktops? I'm happy for Android but saying that Android is winning only because it's "more" open is just non-sense.
  - quarterto 13y ago
    > why didn't Discourse beat Facebook? a) they're aiming more for phpBB et al b) they launched a year ago
    - veeti 13y ago
      He probably meant Diaspora.
      - josteink 13y ago
        In that case they lost because their conceptual model was so complex that even a reasonably technical user trying to sign up would give up trying to get an account, trying to figure out what a "hub" was and how you would get one. And I mean that on top of network effect. And the fact that it was mismanaged. And that it was mostly vapour-ware. It hardly had a chance.
  - nl 13y ago
    why didn't Discourse beat Facebook? Why didn't App.net beat Twitter? Why didn't Linux beat Windows on desktops? I've never heard of Discourse. App.net didn't beat Twitter because of network effects. And it costs more. Windows has a very open ecosystem. It's not open source. Arguably the parent has missed the difference between open source and open ecosystem. The iPad has a moderately open ecosystem too - though less open than Android (which in some ways is less open than Windows since it has a centralised distribution method).
  - josteink 13y ago
    > Why didn't App.net beat Twitter? Because App.net cost money ($50 per head/year iirc) and twitter despite being a closed service was free (as in beer). App.net didn't have a chance.
- anon1385 13y ago
  I wonder how many of those tablets will ever get updates to fix the remote vulnerabilities that have have been out in the wild for nearly 100 weeks now[1]. Do people buying new tablets today realise that they are remotely exploitable because they come with ancient versions of Android and will probably never be patched?[2] This kind of thing just shows how utterly empty and useless marketing buzzwords like 'open' are. [1] http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/02/e-z-2-use-attack-code-exploits-critical-bug-in-majority-of-android-phones/ http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/02/e-z-2-use-attack-cod... [2] http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=android+tablet http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=andr...
- jkaljundi 13y ago
  Don't the actual usage stats still paint a different picture, be it web views from iOS vs Android or Android app engagement and usage?
- DCKing 13y ago
  A platform wins because of bandwagon effect. This is why Windows won on the desktop, Facebook won and now Android has won. Releasing an open system at the right time (as Google did) can cause major bandwagon effect, but is a contributing factor and not a true necessity. I think if Google sold Android like Microsoft does Windows it still would have won (albeit somewhat more slowly). Apple always limits its bandwagon effect by limiting the availability of its platform to a rather small collection of devices. There's simply much more, and much cheaper choice of Android devices than there is with iOS. That defines what platforms wins, not the source code license or the details of their application policy.
  - bennyg 13y ago
    It's pretty easy to "win" when you define it so narrowly like that.
- Kurtz79 13y ago
  Apple fans and Android fans should both grow up and just enjoy their purchases, if they are happy with them.
  - nicholassmith 13y ago
    90% of them do, I think. It's just within the tech echo chamber where you have to pick a side, and fight to the bloody death.
    - NicoJuicy 13y ago
      I do not agree! https://xkcd.com/386/ https://xkcd.com/386/
- sigzero 13y ago
  Are you kidding? The only reason is "cheap" Android tablets. This was always going to happen.
  - NicoJuicy 13y ago
    The only reason is Bang for the $, at least for me.
- hrktb 13y ago
  Not really caring about what the fans are saying, but the OP is about market share, and you match it with an opinion about user experience. That doesn't make much sense as the two concepts are not directly correlated. Good user experience doesn't guarantee market share nor does market share point at good experience.
k-mcgrady 13y ago
Surprised this hadn't already happened as I'm sure Android tablets are much more popular in a lot of markets where price is the most important consideration. Apple really doesn't cater to that at all. What's the usage numbers like though. That seems to be the one Apple always bring out when discussing the iPhone (fewer sales but much more web browsing than Android). I know a family member who had an iPad and used it all the time. For his next tablet he got an Android tablet and he doesn't use it at all. Why? No good apps. Android still lacks massively in quality tablet apps.
- rikkus 13y ago
  I like good apps, and would consider using something with iOS, but I haven't seen anything on iOS that is missing or not-as-good on Android. Could you give some example apps? It would be great to hear about some I/we are missing out on. I'm not just asking so I can say 'Hey Android has this already' - I'm genuinely interested in good apps!
  - k-mcgrady 13y ago
    Off the top of my head: - Garageband - Amplitube - Paper by FiftyThree - iMovie - Penultimate - Sky Guide
    - GFischer 13y ago
      Sounds like Apple is really good for some niches, but I don't see any killer apps out there (which is why Android is thriving I guess :) ).
      - k-mcgrady 13y ago
        If you're a musician Garageband and Amplitube are both killer and there is now comparison on Android (one of the main things preventing me from switching to Android). It's a niche but a pretty large one. iMovie is something that isn't niche - a lot of people are going to find that very useful for putting together quick videos and photo montages to email to friends.
cclogg 13y ago
Darn, the article didn't say anything about which countries caused the growth. It makes it hard to read into what this actually means depending on where you are. Eg http://www.zdnet.com/windows-phone-makes-gains-in-europe-but-android-dominates-7000026703/ http://www.zdnet.com/windows-phone-makes-gains-in-europe-but... shows that certain countries like China can skew total market share towards Android vs Japan skewing towards iOS (and US about 50-50).
leobelle 13y ago
So where are all the tablet apps, because there are like zero tablet apps. I am on my third Android tablet (a Kindle Fire HDX). My first Android tablet was the first Samsung 7" tablet that came out with Gingerbread on it, back in like 2010. I got a free iPad from my job a few years ago and gave that to my daughter and have upgraded her iPad since. She has a ton of children apps for her, that she has grown up with, and learned from. There are near no apps for my Android tablet this many years in. Personally I never want an iOS device, I just don't like the operating system, but I would really like at least some apps for Android. These marketshare numbers don't seem to have helped at all.
- bananas 13y ago
  There are millions of shit apps for reference... However there's this big one that comes with them all called a browser. It does all sorts. The only apps that have an advantage over this app are the ones that have at least partially disconnected model i.e email, offline navigation, authoring or creative stuff and to a degree games. Then again I'd rather have a real keyboard to write emails, a smaller device for my offline navigation and a bigger screen for authoring and creative stuff. So basically, it's a browsing, email and games machine. And a crap one at that. For reference I own a laptop and a smartphone. The mid ground seems pointless to me. Tablets are relegated to children's entertainment and they'd rather use the Xbox for that to be fair as Minecraft is better with real controls and it doesn't spam the hell out of you by trying to install apps via adtrack.king.com every two minutes.
  - nicholassmith 13y ago
    "So basically, it's a browsing, email and games machine. And a crap one at that." For you. Important distinction, just because you specifically haven't found a use doesn't mean others haven't. I know people who code on them, or do some spreadsheet twiddling, or (yes, slowly) write documents on them. For them a tablet is the right amount of compromises. A 30 second search on YouTube reveals a plethora of digital artists, another might reveal a similar amount of digital musicians. Your use case isn't their use case.
- brador 13y ago
matthewmacleod 13y ago
Cool. This was always going to happen. It's also unlikely to have a noticeable effect on Apple, who are still selling loads of iPads. Maybe it'll encourage better tablet apps for Android, which is still obviously lagging in this area.
BugBrother 13y ago
I'm an iPad user in Romania, right now. The salaries are really low here, most sales seem to be 100-200 Euro cheap Androids. The Androids are often used for specific applications/niches (e.g. in taxis and by poor students). If buyers had money, they'd at least get Androids with better screens. I believe the market for paid Android apps here is more or less nil. (I hope the cheap Androids aren't used for banking etc, considering the lack of security updates.) In short -- these cheap Androids aren't really competing with iPads. People just can't afford better (or they are used for a specific application 20 minutes a day). All that said, I still would consider to switch from iOS if I could get better Emacs support with external keyboard than a terminal (which work on iOS now).
- higherpurpose 13y ago
  That's like saying cheap Windows PC's didn't really compete with $2000 Macs. Cheap PCs is what helped Microsoft gain its monopoly power, and what put Apple in a niche position. This is a strength of Android - that it can be on inexpensive devices for the billions of potential users out there.
  - mcphage 13y ago
    > This is a strength of Android - that it can be on inexpensive devices iOS can be on inexpensive devices, too; Apple just chooses not to. Now, maybe that's a good decision, and maybe it's not—but it's a decision that they're making, not a corner they've been backed into.
  - BugBrother 13y ago
    That analogy would work better if the cheap Androids sold software, too. And were nice to use with those apps. But maybe ads to people without money will be enough to finance software? I think before that happens, good cheap screens (maybe not IPS) and lowering electronic prices will push the prices for usable xPAd down anyway -- what seems to happen for phones now. Then everything in the xPad market changes (just don't ask me how).
  - interpol_p 13y ago
    I don't think Apple minds being in a niche position. Remember their original goal for the iPhone? Capture one percent of the market. Their products have always catered to a niche, only with the iPod did they ever start seeing mainstream popularity. I don't think it would hurt Apple to fall back to being a niche in the current computing landscape — they are just amassing money otherwise — their company does not seem designed to actually grow with the money they earn.
ef47d35620c1 13y ago
Watching Android versus iWhatever is like watching Windows versus Macintosh all over again. How soon will they have 97% of the market is now the question.
- rimantas 13y ago
  How about "never"?
- simonh 13y ago
  That's all very well, except that Windows doesn't have 97% of the market. In fact for consumer PCs over $1,000 the Mac actually dominates, as it does for profits in the PC industry overall and has done for quite some time. If iOS ever does end up in the same position against Android as the Mac does against the PC, Apple will be doing very nicely thank you very much.
gte910h 13y ago
This does appear to count Samsung 5" "Tablets" but not the iPod Touch looking at the numbers. I'd love to see this confirmed or disproved.
- higherpurpose 13y ago
  There's no way it includes 5" devices. Those are considered phones. Where are you seeing that?
  - gte910h 13y ago
    The devices without cell equipment are certainly NOT included in the phones comparisons. Aka, iPod Touches and Samsung 5" non-Phone tablets Why would you assume they're also excluded by tablets? None of the sites are showing any real breakdowns to verify this, but the Apple tablet numbers are iPad numbers, not iPad + iPod Touch which it should be if small form factor, non cell tablets are considered in this.
jebus989 13y ago
This is kinda like comparing coke with "carbonated orange drinks". The fact that the latter outsell the former seems obvious but unimpressive, as a fairer comparison (Coke vs. Fanta / product line vs. product line rather than OS) reveals its continued market dominance.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- 6thSigma 13y ago
  There isn't an iPad equivelant for Android though. All of the Android tablets share an ecosystem and all of the iOS tablets share an ecosystem; that's where the link is. Perhaps only counting tablets with Android 4.0 and above would be a better comparison.
chrisBob 13y ago
I think a more telling number is where the money is. How much does Apple make from iPad sales vs all of the Android tablet profits. How much is spent in the app stores? As a developer I will stick with iOS until the profits flip. I couldn't find updated numbers, but in 2012 Apple sold slightly fewer phones, but people still spent 4x as much in the iOS app store. http://techland.time.com/2013/04/16/ios-vs-android/ http://techland.time.com/2013/04/16/ios-vs-android/
- josteink 13y ago
  > How much does Apple make from iPad sales vs all of the Android tablet profits. Why should anyone apart from Apple care about this? Unless ofcourse you're merely interested in finding out if you're getting ripped of and by how much?
  - chrisBob 13y ago
    Thats fair, it is the app store sales that is the important figure.
Cenk 13y ago
For 2013 sales, not for the entire market.
bane 13y ago
Gentlemen, let the goalpost moving begin. edit already two replies providing nice examples.
- antimagic 13y ago
  Sure, maybe. Perhaps you'd like to show us a "snapshot" of where you think the goalposts were before they started moving. You know, something along the lines of multiple pro-Apple pundits saying "The iPad will win the tablet wars, maintaining majority marketshare into the indefinate future". I'm thinking the quote probably doen't exist.
- gress 13y ago
  No need. Android tablets are absolutely outselling iPads. However they are $99 devices sold in Asia as TV replacements, not for apps or web browsing. Also, because android is open, the numbers are inflated: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/18/android-based-tv-sticks-activate-as-tablets-prove-popular-for-bootleg-videos-in-asia http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/18/android-based-tv-s...
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
akulbe 13y ago
Yes, this is subjective... I realize that, so here's my opinionated response. More market share != winning. Applications for Android tablets largely still suck. Applications for iPad, are better quality in my experience - and that by a WIDE margin. Now, here's the bias disclaimer. I have been an avid Mac user in the past, and there are many things I prefer about that platform, in terms of development and productivity (i.e. just getting stuff DONE) HOWEVER - I am currently all-Linux, except for the iPad Air. I use the following devices: iPad Air Nexus 5 (this is my primary "phone" now, having switched from an iPhone 5) Nexus 7 2013 wifi. Yes, that's some extra info... I just wanted to convey the fact that I'm giving Android a fair shake. If you want to ask me what I think of the N5, I'd be happy to share, but that's off-topic here. :)
- akulbe 13y ago
  And the "more market share != winning" comment... let's add an example of that... Microsoft. Yes, they rule in the desktop space. So what? They haven't done anything to innovate in a LONG time. They lost the mobile market. They seem to be grasping for straws, and largely trying to gain revenue by strong-arm bully tactics with patent licensing agreements that are likely almost all FUD. CAN they innovate? Perhaps. It's been a long time since they have. For all you MS-lovers who will tout the dominant market share, and stock market profits... let me ask you this. If MS was doing SO good... why is Ballmer out? :) </opinion>
habosa 13y ago
I'd like to know how many "good" Android tablets are selling, and how much of this is the fact that Android has total dominance on the low end (< $99) market. Specifically, I'd like to see market share for Android devices with Android 4.0+, 1GB RAM, and a decent multicore processor. I'm a happy Nexus 7 owner myself, but there are a lot of people with Android tablets that are total garbage.

80 points by amitkumar01 13y ago

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

So the Apple fans who were telling us how poor the Android tablet experience is and that Android only beats iOS on phones because of carrier bundling appear to have been incorrect yet again. Makes for very good proof that an open ecosystem is always going to beat out a closed one in the long run.

soulhacker 13y ago
Depends on how you define 'beat', yes maybe.
supercoder 13y ago
Experience and market share are two very different things.
k-mcgrady 13y ago
From my comment on this thread: "I know a family member who had an iPad and used it all the time. For his next tablet he got an Android tablet and he doesn't use it at all. Why? No good apps." Android tablets are good when cost is a major consideration but if you can afford to spend an extra $100/200 I believe you'll get more value from an iPad still.
- RyanZAG 13y ago
  So the millions of people buying Android tablets just throw their money away and never use them? Seems a bit of a stretch. Generally if a product isn't useful then people don't buy it, regardless of the price. Why doesn't your family member return the tablet if it's useless?
  - k-mcgrady 13y ago
    >> So the millions of people buying Android tablets just throw their money away and never use them? Seems a bit of a stretch. I didn't say that at all. From my personal experience it seems they get less value from them. They are certainly useful devices but I think the extra money an iPad costs provides more value than the added expense. >> Why doesn't your family member return the tablet if it's useless? He's trying to sell it.
    - Touche 13y ago
      I get the opposite impression. Because the iPad doesn't have access to the harddrive it's hard to use it outside of silo-ed app experiences. I have a catalog of cbr/cbz comic books and it's simple too much work to get them on the iPad. On the Nexus 7 I simple copy them over the network using File Explorer.
      - evilduck 13y ago
        iOS apps that have file management needs work fundamentally the same as a regular file explorer: connect to iTunes, select your device, click the 'Apps' tab, scroll down to 'File Sharing', select your destination app, drag and drop files, sync. You can even do this over wifi. I guess the Android advantage is you can initiate this transfer from the device instead of the computer, but that's not really "too much work" IMO. Apps that register for opening certain file types will also be available in 'Open in' dialogs of other apps (if the developers of both apps added the same file extension) so it's easy to move files between apps. Silos for app files only exist if the developer is lazy or ignorant, the platform itself has supported file sharing between apps for years.
        Touche 13y ago
        > iOS apps that have file management needs work fundamentally the same as a regular file explorer: connect to iTunes, Wait, what? Connecting to iTunes is not part of any regular file explorer workflow. > I guess the Android advantage is you can initiate this transfer from the device instead of the computer, but that's not really "too much work" IMO. Wow, can't disagree more. That's an enormous difference. one is a computer and one is a periphery. Peripheries are fine, some people can live with just a periphery, but if you have real file management needs like the one I pointed to above, a periphery won't cut it. It's entirely too inconvenient to have to dig out the computer that has iTunes installed (for me it's 1 of 4 laptops in my house), get the files onto that computer (probably over the network) and then transfer them onto the device.
- GFischer 13y ago
  I have an iPad, and my gf has a Google Nexus 7. We live in Uruguay, and at least for us, it makes way more sense to have an Android tablet than an Apple tablet, moastly because a lot more things are paid on the iPad, and most developers target Android first in my country because it has 90% market share. So YMMV. We also have Android phones. I think the user experience is good enough on both OS, and I'll probably buy Android for my next tablet (I got really frustrated by the iPad's limitations). Apple does have the everything-integrated experience if you buy only Apple (iMac, iPhone and iPad), but only affluent people can afford that, and I wouldn't want it even if I could afford it (which I can't).
  - NicoJuicy 13y ago
    I'm from Belgium and we're not willing to buy everything on Apple. Come on, the newest Apple computer costs like 3000 $ . Anyone who wants it, is willing to throw out cash. Even a friend of mine (who is a serieus Apple fan), is going to buy a Windows pc (but he'll keep his iPhone). I suspect that he is going to get frustrated by the frustrating experience that Apple brings on other platforms.
lubos 13y ago
So if open ecosystem is always going to beat a closed one, why didn't Discourse beat Facebook? Why didn't App.net beat Twitter? Why didn't Linux beat Windows on desktops? I'm happy for Android but saying that Android is winning only because it's "more" open is just non-sense.
- quarterto 13y ago
  > why didn't Discourse beat Facebook? a) they're aiming more for phpBB et al b) they launched a year ago
  - veeti 13y ago
    He probably meant Diaspora.
    - josteink 13y ago
      In that case they lost because their conceptual model was so complex that even a reasonably technical user trying to sign up would give up trying to get an account, trying to figure out what a "hub" was and how you would get one. And I mean that on top of network effect. And the fact that it was mismanaged. And that it was mostly vapour-ware. It hardly had a chance.
- nl 13y ago
  why didn't Discourse beat Facebook? Why didn't App.net beat Twitter? Why didn't Linux beat Windows on desktops? I've never heard of Discourse. App.net didn't beat Twitter because of network effects. And it costs more. Windows has a very open ecosystem. It's not open source. Arguably the parent has missed the difference between open source and open ecosystem. The iPad has a moderately open ecosystem too - though less open than Android (which in some ways is less open than Windows since it has a centralised distribution method).
- josteink 13y ago
  > Why didn't App.net beat Twitter? Because App.net cost money ($50 per head/year iirc) and twitter despite being a closed service was free (as in beer). App.net didn't have a chance.
anon1385 13y ago
I wonder how many of those tablets will ever get updates to fix the remote vulnerabilities that have have been out in the wild for nearly 100 weeks now[1]. Do people buying new tablets today realise that they are remotely exploitable because they come with ancient versions of Android and will probably never be patched?[2] This kind of thing just shows how utterly empty and useless marketing buzzwords like 'open' are. [1] http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/02/e-z-2-use-attack-code-exploits-critical-bug-in-majority-of-android-phones/ http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/02/e-z-2-use-attack-cod... [2] http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=android+tablet http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=andr...
jkaljundi 13y ago
Don't the actual usage stats still paint a different picture, be it web views from iOS vs Android or Android app engagement and usage?
DCKing 13y ago
A platform wins because of bandwagon effect. This is why Windows won on the desktop, Facebook won and now Android has won. Releasing an open system at the right time (as Google did) can cause major bandwagon effect, but is a contributing factor and not a true necessity. I think if Google sold Android like Microsoft does Windows it still would have won (albeit somewhat more slowly). Apple always limits its bandwagon effect by limiting the availability of its platform to a rather small collection of devices. There's simply much more, and much cheaper choice of Android devices than there is with iOS. That defines what platforms wins, not the source code license or the details of their application policy.
- bennyg 13y ago
  It's pretty easy to "win" when you define it so narrowly like that.
Kurtz79 13y ago
Apple fans and Android fans should both grow up and just enjoy their purchases, if they are happy with them.
- nicholassmith 13y ago
  90% of them do, I think. It's just within the tech echo chamber where you have to pick a side, and fight to the bloody death.
  - NicoJuicy 13y ago
    I do not agree! https://xkcd.com/386/ https://xkcd.com/386/
sigzero 13y ago
Are you kidding? The only reason is "cheap" Android tablets. This was always going to happen.
- NicoJuicy 13y ago
  The only reason is Bang for the $, at least for me.
hrktb 13y ago
Not really caring about what the fans are saying, but the OP is about market share, and you match it with an opinion about user experience. That doesn't make much sense as the two concepts are not directly correlated. Good user experience doesn't guarantee market share nor does market share point at good experience.

k-mcgrady 13y ago

Surprised this hadn't already happened as I'm sure Android tablets are much more popular in a lot of markets where price is the most important consideration. Apple really doesn't cater to that at all. What's the usage numbers like though. That seems to be the one Apple always bring out when discussing the iPhone (fewer sales but much more web browsing than Android). I know a family member who had an iPad and used it all the time. For his next tablet he got an Android tablet and he doesn't use it at all. Why? No good apps. Android still lacks massively in quality tablet apps.

rikkus 13y ago
I like good apps, and would consider using something with iOS, but I haven't seen anything on iOS that is missing or not-as-good on Android. Could you give some example apps? It would be great to hear about some I/we are missing out on. I'm not just asking so I can say 'Hey Android has this already' - I'm genuinely interested in good apps!
- k-mcgrady 13y ago
  Off the top of my head: - Garageband - Amplitube - Paper by FiftyThree - iMovie - Penultimate - Sky Guide
  - GFischer 13y ago
    Sounds like Apple is really good for some niches, but I don't see any killer apps out there (which is why Android is thriving I guess :) ).
    - k-mcgrady 13y ago
      If you're a musician Garageband and Amplitube are both killer and there is now comparison on Android (one of the main things preventing me from switching to Android). It's a niche but a pretty large one. iMovie is something that isn't niche - a lot of people are going to find that very useful for putting together quick videos and photo montages to email to friends.

cclogg 13y ago

Darn, the article didn't say anything about which countries caused the growth. It makes it hard to read into what this actually means depending on where you are. Eg http://www.zdnet.com/windows-phone-makes-gains-in-europe-but-android-dominates-7000026703/ http://www.zdnet.com/windows-phone-makes-gains-in-europe-but... shows that certain countries like China can skew total market share towards Android vs Japan skewing towards iOS (and US about 50-50).

leobelle 13y ago

So where are all the tablet apps, because there are like zero tablet apps. I am on my third Android tablet (a Kindle Fire HDX). My first Android tablet was the first Samsung 7" tablet that came out with Gingerbread on it, back in like 2010. I got a free iPad from my job a few years ago and gave that to my daughter and have upgraded her iPad since. She has a ton of children apps for her, that she has grown up with, and learned from. There are near no apps for my Android tablet this many years in. Personally I never want an iOS device, I just don't like the operating system, but I would really like at least some apps for Android. These marketshare numbers don't seem to have helped at all.

bananas 13y ago
There are millions of shit apps for reference... However there's this big one that comes with them all called a browser. It does all sorts. The only apps that have an advantage over this app are the ones that have at least partially disconnected model i.e email, offline navigation, authoring or creative stuff and to a degree games. Then again I'd rather have a real keyboard to write emails, a smaller device for my offline navigation and a bigger screen for authoring and creative stuff. So basically, it's a browsing, email and games machine. And a crap one at that. For reference I own a laptop and a smartphone. The mid ground seems pointless to me. Tablets are relegated to children's entertainment and they'd rather use the Xbox for that to be fair as Minecraft is better with real controls and it doesn't spam the hell out of you by trying to install apps via adtrack.king.com every two minutes.
- nicholassmith 13y ago
  "So basically, it's a browsing, email and games machine. And a crap one at that." For you. Important distinction, just because you specifically haven't found a use doesn't mean others haven't. I know people who code on them, or do some spreadsheet twiddling, or (yes, slowly) write documents on them. For them a tablet is the right amount of compromises. A 30 second search on YouTube reveals a plethora of digital artists, another might reveal a similar amount of digital musicians. Your use case isn't their use case.
brador 13y ago

matthewmacleod 13y ago

Cool. This was always going to happen. It's also unlikely to have a noticeable effect on Apple, who are still selling loads of iPads. Maybe it'll encourage better tablet apps for Android, which is still obviously lagging in this area.

BugBrother 13y ago

I'm an iPad user in Romania, right now. The salaries are really low here, most sales seem to be 100-200 Euro cheap Androids. The Androids are often used for specific applications/niches (e.g. in taxis and by poor students). If buyers had money, they'd at least get Androids with better screens. I believe the market for paid Android apps here is more or less nil. (I hope the cheap Androids aren't used for banking etc, considering the lack of security updates.) In short -- these cheap Androids aren't really competing with iPads. People just can't afford better (or they are used for a specific application 20 minutes a day). All that said, I still would consider to switch from iOS if I could get better Emacs support with external keyboard than a terminal (which work on iOS now).

higherpurpose 13y ago
That's like saying cheap Windows PC's didn't really compete with $2000 Macs. Cheap PCs is what helped Microsoft gain its monopoly power, and what put Apple in a niche position. This is a strength of Android - that it can be on inexpensive devices for the billions of potential users out there.
- mcphage 13y ago
  > This is a strength of Android - that it can be on inexpensive devices iOS can be on inexpensive devices, too; Apple just chooses not to. Now, maybe that's a good decision, and maybe it's not—but it's a decision that they're making, not a corner they've been backed into.
- BugBrother 13y ago
  That analogy would work better if the cheap Androids sold software, too. And were nice to use with those apps. But maybe ads to people without money will be enough to finance software? I think before that happens, good cheap screens (maybe not IPS) and lowering electronic prices will push the prices for usable xPAd down anyway -- what seems to happen for phones now. Then everything in the xPad market changes (just don't ask me how).
- interpol_p 13y ago
  I don't think Apple minds being in a niche position. Remember their original goal for the iPhone? Capture one percent of the market. Their products have always catered to a niche, only with the iPod did they ever start seeing mainstream popularity. I don't think it would hurt Apple to fall back to being a niche in the current computing landscape — they are just amassing money otherwise — their company does not seem designed to actually grow with the money they earn.

ef47d35620c1 13y ago

Watching Android versus iWhatever is like watching Windows versus Macintosh all over again. How soon will they have 97% of the market is now the question.

rimantas 13y ago
How about "never"?
simonh 13y ago
That's all very well, except that Windows doesn't have 97% of the market. In fact for consumer PCs over $1,000 the Mac actually dominates, as it does for profits in the PC industry overall and has done for quite some time. If iOS ever does end up in the same position against Android as the Mac does against the PC, Apple will be doing very nicely thank you very much.

gte910h 13y ago

This does appear to count Samsung 5" "Tablets" but not the iPod Touch looking at the numbers. I'd love to see this confirmed or disproved.

higherpurpose 13y ago
There's no way it includes 5" devices. Those are considered phones. Where are you seeing that?
- gte910h 13y ago
  The devices without cell equipment are certainly NOT included in the phones comparisons. Aka, iPod Touches and Samsung 5" non-Phone tablets Why would you assume they're also excluded by tablets? None of the sites are showing any real breakdowns to verify this, but the Apple tablet numbers are iPad numbers, not iPad + iPod Touch which it should be if small form factor, non cell tablets are considered in this.

jebus989 13y ago

This is kinda like comparing coke with "carbonated orange drinks". The fact that the latter outsell the former seems obvious but unimpressive, as a fairer comparison (Coke vs. Fanta / product line vs. product line rather than OS) reveals its continued market dominance.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
6thSigma 13y ago
There isn't an iPad equivelant for Android though. All of the Android tablets share an ecosystem and all of the iOS tablets share an ecosystem; that's where the link is. Perhaps only counting tablets with Android 4.0 and above would be a better comparison.

chrisBob 13y ago

I think a more telling number is where the money is. How much does Apple make from iPad sales vs all of the Android tablet profits. How much is spent in the app stores? As a developer I will stick with iOS until the profits flip. I couldn't find updated numbers, but in 2012 Apple sold slightly fewer phones, but people still spent 4x as much in the iOS app store. http://techland.time.com/2013/04/16/ios-vs-android/ http://techland.time.com/2013/04/16/ios-vs-android/

josteink 13y ago
> How much does Apple make from iPad sales vs all of the Android tablet profits. Why should anyone apart from Apple care about this? Unless ofcourse you're merely interested in finding out if you're getting ripped of and by how much?
- chrisBob 13y ago
  Thats fair, it is the app store sales that is the important figure.

Cenk 13y ago

For 2013 sales, not for the entire market.

bane 13y ago

Gentlemen, let the goalpost moving begin. edit already two replies providing nice examples.

antimagic 13y ago
Sure, maybe. Perhaps you'd like to show us a "snapshot" of where you think the goalposts were before they started moving. You know, something along the lines of multiple pro-Apple pundits saying "The iPad will win the tablet wars, maintaining majority marketshare into the indefinate future". I'm thinking the quote probably doen't exist.
gress 13y ago
No need. Android tablets are absolutely outselling iPads. However they are $99 devices sold in Asia as TV replacements, not for apps or web browsing. Also, because android is open, the numbers are inflated: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/18/android-based-tv-sticks-activate-as-tablets-prove-popular-for-bootleg-videos-in-asia http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/18/android-based-tv-s...

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

akulbe 13y ago

Yes, this is subjective... I realize that, so here's my opinionated response. More market share != winning. Applications for Android tablets largely still suck. Applications for iPad, are better quality in my experience - and that by a WIDE margin. Now, here's the bias disclaimer. I have been an avid Mac user in the past, and there are many things I prefer about that platform, in terms of development and productivity (i.e. just getting stuff DONE) HOWEVER - I am currently all-Linux, except for the iPad Air. I use the following devices: iPad Air Nexus 5 (this is my primary "phone" now, having switched from an iPhone 5) Nexus 7 2013 wifi. Yes, that's some extra info... I just wanted to convey the fact that I'm giving Android a fair shake. If you want to ask me what I think of the N5, I'd be happy to share, but that's off-topic here. :)

akulbe 13y ago
And the "more market share != winning" comment... let's add an example of that... Microsoft. Yes, they rule in the desktop space. So what? They haven't done anything to innovate in a LONG time. They lost the mobile market. They seem to be grasping for straws, and largely trying to gain revenue by strong-arm bully tactics with patent licensing agreements that are likely almost all FUD. CAN they innovate? Perhaps. It's been a long time since they have. For all you MS-lovers who will tout the dominant market share, and stock market profits... let me ask you this. If MS was doing SO good... why is Ballmer out? :) </opinion>

habosa 13y ago

I'd like to know how many "good" Android tablets are selling, and how much of this is the fact that Android has total dominance on the low end (< $99) market. Specifically, I'd like to see market share for Android devices with Android 4.0+, 1GB RAM, and a decent multicore processor. I'm a happy Nexus 7 owner myself, but there are a lot of people with Android tablets that are total garbage.