Apple Inc. (AAPL) Falls Off, Lead Still Not Challenged

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has long been the king of the tablet market, thanks to the success of its iPad lineup.

Despite the fact that Cupertino continues to lead, this didn’t do much for the market as a whole last year.

According to IDC, 2014 was a rough year for the tablet market, with the research firm sharing the following:

“Worldwide tablet shipments recorded a year-over-year decline for the first time since the market’s inception in 2010.”

Despite the fact that tablet shipments took a dive last year, there is one company that remains alone at the top: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).

While Apple is being pushed by other companies, such as Samsung, it has yet to give up its lead. That being said, Jitesh Ubrani, a Senior Research Analyst for IDC, discussed Apple’s lackluster year over year growth:

“Although Apple expanded its iPad lineup by keeping around older models and offering a lower entry price point of $249, it still wasn’t enough to spur iPad sales given the excitement around the launch of the new iPhones.”

A Look at the Stats

Apple’s 4Q14 market share stood at 28.1 percent. While this is easily good enough for the top spot, it is a big decrease when compared to its 4Q13 market share of 33.1 percent.

Even more eye opening is the fact that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s year over year growth checked in at -17.8 percent.

Even though Apple fell off significantly in the past year, Samsung did not perform any better, with year over year growth of -18.4 percent. In other words, Samsung had a clear opportunity to make up ground on Cupertino and its iPad lineup, but was unable to take advantage.

All in all, Apple is still far out in front, with 4Q14 market share of 28.1 percent, compared to 14.5 percent for second place Samsung.

Apple still remains relatively unchallenged for the top spot in the tablet market. However, its market share could continue to fall in the quarters to come. IDC feels this could remain an issue due to:

“Cannibalization at the bottom from the iPhone and at the top from the Mac appear to be a serious issue for the iPad.”

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s tablet market share is well worth paying attention to, with the first quarter of 2015 being an important one for the company.