Apple’s iPad loses top spot as tablet sales falter

Is Australia’s love affair with the tablet over? Sales from the last six months are down a whopping 28 per cent and Apple’s iPad has slipped from the top spot.

A new study by tech analysts Telsyte has revealed the sharp sales decline after years of solid growth.

Research shows the many customers who already own a tablet are waiting for a reason to upgrade.

Despite this, the penetration of media tablets is still a healthy 48 per cent or 10.8 million people as of the end of June 2014.

The iPad 2, released back in 2011, is the most popular tablet in use in the country.

And through the sheer strength of the number of companies producing Android tablets, they have combined to outsell Apple’s iPad for the first time in Australia.

Apple’s market share stands at 46 per cent while combined total of all other Android tablets makes up 47 per cent of the market with Windows devices a distant third at seven per cent.

Telsyte’s managing director Foad Fadaghi says Apple is likely to be back in the top market position by the end of the year.

“Apple should have a strong second half if it can bring upgraded models to market and benefit from a halo effect created by the iPhone 6 launch” he says.

“More than half of iPhone users already have an iPad, whether consumers upgrade both this year will be the question many will be asking.”

Telsyte is predicting more than 2.1 million tablets will be sold in Australia in the second half of the year.

But a factor in tablets sales is the expected strong smartphone purchasing cycle in October in the wake of the iPhone 6 launch which may out back the purchase of new tablets until 2015.

Telsyte says demands for smartphones will be three times greater than tablets in the second half of 2014.

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