14 DAY TRIAL // Back in 2012, Microsoft invented a concept that Apple originally laughed at, but which the Cupertino-based iPhone maker then reconsidered and even embraced for its own products.
The 2-in-1 form factor, which debuted with the Surface RT approximately 5 years ago, is the category that’s growing in sales every single quarter, while the traditional tablet keeps declining, with substantial drops recorded by every single OEM. Including Apple, that is, which has more or less been the pioneer of tablets with the original iPad.
IDC reveals that Apple is one of the biggest names whose sales are declining, revealing that shipments in the first quarter of 2017 dropped to 8.9 million from 10.3 million the same period of the previous year. The market share also declined from 26.9 percent to 24.6 percent, with IDC estimating a year-over-year drop of 13 percent.
Continued collapse
The research shows that this is no less than the 13th consecutive quarter of drop for Apple, even though it remains the market leader in Q1 2017. Apple has indeed tried to slow down the collapse generated by 2-in-1 devices with its own iPad Pro, but Microsoft’s Surface and the other Windows 10 devices with detachable keyboards seem to be the big winners at this point.
“Apple's results show that it is not immune to the changing dynamics of industry and consumer demand, part of which is due to the ongoing success of its other product lines. 2016 was Apple's first full year of iPad Pro shipments, which included the launch of the smaller screen lower-cost 9.7 inch version,” the company says.
“This product line quickly elevated Apple to the top of the growing detachable tablet market segment, and IDC believes Apple is in a good spot to remain competitive at the top of this segment despite using a 'mobile OS' while many of its competitors are entering the space with Windows-based devices.”
Other manufacturers were impacted as well, with tablet sales going down also for Samsung and Lenovo by 1.1 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively. On the other hand, Huawei experienced a boost in shipments from 2.0 million units to 2.7 million units.
Microsoft itself is said to unveil new Surface upgrades as soon as this month, with the company expected to take the wraps off a refreshed Surface Pro 4 in Shanghai on May 23.
