Strategy Analytics Q4 2016 Report: Windows Tablets at 16% Market Share with Fall in Android and iOS Shipments

Strategy Analytics quarterly tablet report is out, marking more good news for Microsoft. Windows tablets have continued to grow, the OS now accounting for 16% of the market.

This is thanks, in part, to falling shipments of Android and iOS devices. iPads came in below expectations, with 19% lower shipments year-on-year. Android shipments also fell, with a decrease of 10%.

This led to an overall decrease in tablet shipments of 9% year-on-year. However, Windows tablets managed to pick up some of the slack with a 19% increase in shipments. The OS saw a total of 10.1 million tablets shifted this quarter.

The Rise of the 2-in-1

Unfortunately, Microsoft’s Surface tablets didn’t account for a big chunk of those shipments. Senior Analyst Eric Smith puts this down to the lack of a refresh in some time:

“2-in-1 Tablets are a hot market segment but price remains a key factor in consumer behaviors around PC and Tablet replacement devices, which is evident in lower shipments of iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4 devices in the quarter,” he said. “Apple cut prices on its iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4 models but introduced no new iPad Pro models or pricing during the quarter, leading to 4% ASP decline year-on-year. Microsoft has not released a major refresh of its Surface Pro or Surface Book devices in over a year, which has given its OEM partners and other mobile-first companies a chance to catch up with high-performing, lower cost Surface clones.”

The statistics definitely back this up, Lenovo at a market share of 5.4%, while Huawei came in at 5.4.

Despite this, the growth of the Windows 10 tablet ecosystem can only be good for Microsoft. It encourages further progress and brings more developers to the platform. The next Surface device is bound to make an impact in what seems to be a growing ecosystem.

You can read the full report on the Strategy Analytics website.