The continued fall in tablet ASPs has given Chinese suppliers – with price advantages and higher flexibility – a chance to rise in the market, says Taiwan’s MIC.
The majority of branded and white-box tablets use Android – with Apple’s iPad share declining, MIC data now shows Android with a 70% market share. Windows tablet sales have been low, as they mainly target businesses and niche markets.
Microsoft began to produce its own Surface tablets in 2012, partly to boost Windows’ market share. The move was only partly successful. However, Microsoft’s waiving of the license fee for sub-9″ tablets in late 2012 helped vendors to reduce overall costs. MIC now calculates that Windows’ tablet market share is around 4.6%, growing to 4.8% this year.
