Sometimes the hardest thing about being number one isn’t necessarily the climb to the top, but all the effort it takes to stay there. Such is the case for Apple’s iPad tablet and according to a report released on Tuesday, the iPad will be overtaken by Android as the tablet of choice this year.
Small is big
The strong sales of Android tablets are Apple’s main concern because consumer preferences have shifted from larger tablets to smaller ones—and the majority of these are manufactured with Android operating systems. The two biggest hitters in the 7-inch tablet category are Amazon’s Kindle Fire, and Google’s Nexus 7.
The writing on the wall
Apple’s former size restriction on the iPad, set down by Steve Jobs, was to never manufacture an iPad with a display smaller than 9.7-inches because Jobs believed a smaller tablet would compromise the "iPad experience."
But with the enormous success of 7-inch tablets, Apple reversed course and produced its own version of a smaller tablet—the iPad mini, which has ironically, hurt Apple’s iPad 3 and iPad 4 sales numbers.
Jitesh Ubrani, a research analyst at IDC said:
"One in every two tablets shipped this quarter was below 8 inches in screen size. And in terms of shipments, we expect smaller tablets to continue growing in 2013 and beyond. Vendors are moving quickly to compete in this space as consumers realize that these small devices are often more ideal than larger tablets for their daily consumption habits."
Are the experts right?
IDC predicts that market share for the iPad will drop from 51 percent to 46 percent, while Android powered tablets will increase its share from 41.5 percent to 48.6 percent in 2013. Industry analysts assume that the present trend of full-sized iPads losing ground to smaller Android tablets will continue.
But this sort of logic won't hold true if Apple incorporates true innovative technology in its iPad line instead of releasing incremental upgrades every few months.
Will Apple's iPad really lose to Android as the king of tablets? In the words of legendary Yankees baseball manager Yogi Berra, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
Via Mercury News
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