China's technology savvy consumers have resorted to buying cheaper tablets that uses the Android operating system of Google, a trend first seen among smartphones which likewise greatly hit the iPhone's market in the country.

Apple may have shipped 1.15 million units in the quarter, but this doesn't translate to the ultimate bucks.

"Apple has lost its luster in China in the past six months and is no longer the must-have product in any category," Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group, told Bloomberg. "Consumers are more price-sensitive. Before, people would skip lunch to buy an iPad."

Moreover, Apple's failure to release new products was also a reason domestic tablet makers easily pried on.

"Android has quickly seized the tablet PC market with a crushing force," Wang Jun, a Beijing-based analyst with researcher Analysys International, told Bloomberg. 'Chinese brands are hot on the online selling channels and have earned more market share with low prices and high product value."

"If Apple can't release an innovative tablet soon, then Android will dominate the market," he said.

Dickie Chang, a Hong Kong-based analyst with researcher IDC, said that Apple's lost market share were captured by small Chinese companies, including the Onda and Aigo brands, as well as producers who sell unbranded products to others.

Samsung's market share jumped from 6 per cent to 11 per cent as deliveries ballooned to 571,000 from 133,000. Lenovo came in third, dropping in market share from 9 per cent to 8 per cent despite shipments growing to 413,000 204,000.