Android Flips the Table in the Tablet Wars, Microsoft Surface not as Bad as Before but Still Pretty Bad

Oh what a difference a year makes.

According to IDC, Apple shipped 14.6 million iPads in the second quarter of 2013, a 14% drop from the 17 million tablets it shipped in Q2 2013. Over that same time, Android tablet shipments surged from 10.7 million in Q2 2012 to 28.2 million in Q2 2013, an increase of just under 163%. These reverse trajectories caused iOS and Android’s market shares to essentially flip over the past year: While Apple held a 60.3% market share and Android held a 38% market share in Q2 2012, Android now holds a 62.6% market share and Apple holds a 32.5% market share.

Well I am considering buying a new Nexus once I get my Chromecast in. I want a device that I can browse the Internet with and will allow me to push tabs to my TV. In other words I want to browse the Internet on my TV if I choose to. Microsoft increased its market share from 1% to 4.5% which is really not bad. The bad news is that might be the extent of the growth.

In other news, IDC has found that Windows-based tablets accounted for 4.5% of all tablets shipped in Q2 2013, a big increase from the 1% share that Windows tablets held in Q2 2012. However, Microsoft can’t be pleased to see that Windows RT tablets only accounted for 0.5% of all tablets shipped on the quarter and just barely beat out BlackBerry’s PlayBook, which accounted for 0.3% of all tablets shipped.