Tablet market explosion

Gartner predicts 118.9 million tablets will be sold this year, a significant 98% increase on the 60 million units sold in 2011.According to Gartner, Apple will maintain its dominance in the tablet space over the coming years. “Despite the arrival of Microsoft-based devices to this market, and the expected international rollout of the Kindle Fire, Apple will continue to be the market leader through the forecast period,” says Gartner.

While the iPad will continue to dominate the market, its competitors are expected to begin closing the gap in market share. Apple is expected to account for 61.4% of tablet sales this year, while that figure is expected to drop to 45% by 2016.

By comparison, Android is expected to grow to 37% in the same period (Android is expected to take 32% in 2012), with Windows accounting for 12% by 2016. According to Gartner, the core issue with Android tablets has been the lack of dedicated applications that leverage the capabilities of tablets.

The IDC previously predicted that Android will overtake Apple in market share as soon as 2015, as a result of its lower-cost offerings. IDC did, however, predict Apple would remain the market leader in revenue through 2016.