Apple’s operating system, iOS, has lost its dominant position in the tablet market to Google’s Android amid booming sales of cheaper devices.
Research firm Gartner said iOS saw its share slump by a third to 36% against 53% a year earlier, even though sales of the iPad increased by 14.5% to 70.4 million.
In contrast, cheaper tablets which work on the Android system — such as Samsung’s Galaxy range and Amazon’s Kindle Fire — grabbed 62%, up from 46%, with sales more than doubling to 121 million.
Worldwide sales of tablets rose 68% to 195.4 million thanks to cheaper devices with smaller screens.
Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner, warned that the market was becoming “highly commoditised” and reckoned consumers will demand “a better device experience”. Android’s dominance is a boost to Google, which benefits because users are likely to try other services such as the Google Play app store and Gmail.
Only Apple devices use iOS and its 36% share means the iPad remains the top-selling tablet range. Samsung closed the gap as its tablet sales quadrupled last year to 37.4 million to give it 19%.
The cheap end has been flooded with unbranded Android tablets, with 60 million of sales.
