Apple Inc. iPad lagged behind Android-based tablets in worldwide tablet sales, researchers at Gartner found.

Android had snatched the number 1 spot from iOS for the most popular platform. From the 195 million tablets sold in 2013, 62 per cent of sales on 121 million tablets were Android based tablets. On the other hand, Apple Inc. sold 70 million iPads for a 36 per cent share in the market.

"In 2013, tablets became a mainstream phenomenon, with a vast choice of Android-based tablets being within the budget of mainstream consumers while still offering adequate specifications.As the Android tablet market becomes highly commoditized, in 2014, it will be critical for vendors to focus on device experience and meaningful technology and ecosystem value — beyond just hardware and cost — to ensure brand loyalty and improved margins,” said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner. "

Apple Inc iOS share in tablet sales plunged at 16.8 per cent in 2013. This was mainly because demands had drastically shifted to smaller low-cost tablets which were being offered by Apple Inc’s competitors. The proliferation of “white-box” products in the emerging markets had also contributed largely to iPad’s share decline.

According to Ms Cozza, the emerging markets showed 145 per cent growth in 2013, while mature markets only showed 31 per cent in growth.

However, Apple Inc. remains the number one vendor, leaving Samsung behind at number 2.

"Apple's tablets remain strong in the higher end of the market and, Apple's approach will continue to force vendors to compete with full ecosystem offerings, even in the smaller-screen market as the iPad mini sees a greater share”, added Ms. Cozza.

Nevertheless, Apple should not be complacent because Samsung had decreased its gap from Apple. Samsung showed the highest growth of the worldwide tablet vendors at 336 per cent in 2013. Galaxy tablet was instrumental in narrowing the gap between Apple and Samsung.

* About Gartner

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