In IDC’s report released today covering worldwide tablet market for the third quarter, the research firm notes that the market as a whole continues to grow thanks to strong growth from Android tablets. Apple shipments remained steady during the quarter compared to last year at 14 million units in Q3, but its share of the market drops from 40.2% last year to just 29.6% this year as Samsung, Asus, Lenovo, and Acer all post significant growth for the quarter compared to the same quarter last year.
Samsung is up from 12.4% last year to 20.4% of the tablet market in Q3 2013 (a 123% increase), while Asus is up 53.9% to 3.5 million units, Lenovo sold 2.3m (up 420.7%), and Acer recorded 1.2M (up 346.3%):
We’ll have to wait to see numbers from the current quarter to see if Apple’s launch of new iPad models will help it increase its lead during the fourth quarter. It’s bound to gain back some of its market share with sales of the new iPad Air and Retina iPad mini, but Android tablets have been gaining every quarter. Last year Apple had over 40% market share in Q4.
