Tablet shipments rose 19 percent to 57.6 million units in Q1 2014 from 48.3 million in Q1 2013, said Strategy Analytics.
In Q1 2013, tablet shipment was a whopping 83 percent.
In Q1 2014, Apple iOS market share in the tablet space decreased to 28.4 percent from 40.3 percent in Q1 2013.
Google Android increased OS market share to 65.8 percent from 53 percent.
Microsoft Windows OS remained at 5.8 percent.
Strategy Analytics said Android secured a robust two thirds global share, while Apple iPad shipments were below expectations and iOS lost market share.
Peter King, director of Tablets at Strategy Analytics, said: “Apple iOS shipments were 16.4 million iPads in Q1 2014 which declined 16 percent annually, but Apple claimed that due to channel inventory changes which were reduced significantly from the same period last year, sell-through only declined 3 percent.”
Strategy Analytics said Apple iOS will likely lose share over the next several months to refreshed Android products. However, Apple will win back meaningful high-end market share during the final months of the calendar year.
There may be an uptick in Windows following Microsoft’s decision to offer Windows for free for sub 9-inch devices. The global tablet industry may see a new batch of 8 inch Windows based Tablets with reduced prices; they will still not be as inexpensive as Android.
The report said the shortage of apps continues to be a problem, with seemingly little incentive for developers to work on the platform.
