iPad Air Sales Keep Apple Ahead On The Tablet Market Pack

While the tablet market remains in a bit of a slump, sales of Apple’s iPad Air have helped the company to secure its market lead.

The latest global tablet sales report from IDC revealed that Apple products accounted for 21 percent (9.3 million) of the 43 million estimated tablet units shopped in Q3. The data also showed that the overall market itself has continued its decline of 14.7 percent year-over-year.

“Unfortunately, many low-cost detachables also deliver a low-cost experience,” Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers, said in a statement. “The race to the bottom is something we have already experienced with slates and it may prove detrimental to the market in the long run as detachables could easily be seen as disposable devices rather than potential PC replacements.”

The IDC explained that despite the launch of Apple’s new iPad Pro line, its iPad Air and iPad mini shipments remained the most popular. However, the launch of the more expensive Pro line did contribute significantly to the company’s iPad revenues staying at a flat year-over-year while overall shipments dropped 6.2 percent, 9To5Mac reported.

“Beyond the different end-user experience delivered by low- and high-end tablets, we’re witnessing real tectonic movements in the market with slate companion devices sold at the low-end serving a broader platform strategy, like Amazon is doing with Alexa on its Fire Tablets, and more expensive productivity tools closer to true computing and legitimate notebook replacement devices that should manage to keep average prices up,” Jean Philippe Bouchard, research director, Tablets at IDC, explained.