2014 Q2 Tablet Market Grows, as Apple and Samsung Disappoint says Strategy Analytics

Strategy Analytics: Global Tablet Shipments grow 5% in Q2 2014.

Boston, MA – August 20, 2014 – According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global tablet shipments reached 52.4 million units in the second quarter of 2014. Tablet shipments from both Apple and Samsung were down on Q2 2013 volumes.

Second quarter 2014 Global Tablet shipments were up 5% at 52.4 million units, with Asus and Lenovo the only top 5 ranked vendors delivering shipment growth over Q2 2013. Despite both Apple and Samsung suffering a decline in shipments, the two companies maintain a firm grip on the tablet market, where their combined shipments accounted for 41% of the global market in Q2 2014. White Box vendors capitalized on the demand for low cost tablets, with shipments up almost 2 million units over Q2 2013.

Peter King, Director of Tablets at Strategy Analytics, said, “The lack of new models from Apple clearly hurt the company’s shipments, but we expect new products in the fourth quarter to reinvigorate shipments. While Samsung had a noteworthy quarter in Q1 2014, we suspect high inventory levels resulted in the fall in shipments in the second quarter. We expect both Apple and Samsung to have a stronger second half year with Q4 particularly strong due to new models and year-end seasonal promotion.”

King added, “Lenovo continues to build momentum with its PC+ strategy (that is smartphones and tablets), for now Lenovo continues to outperform the market, but it needs to watch Asus who are fighting hard to gain 3^rd place in the Tablet rankings”.

Exhibit 1: Global Tablet Vendor Shipments and Market Share in Q2 2014 (preliminary)