Apple increased its worldwide tablet market share by 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, thanks to strong demand for its new 10.2-inch iPad, according to the latest data compiled by research firm IDC.
Apple's seventh-generation iPad, introduced in September 2019 as an affordable entry-level tablet for consumers and educational institutions, accounted for 65 percent of 15.9 million total iPad shipments during the three months ending in December, according to IDC.
Performance of the 10.2-inch iPad helped the company increase global tablet market share in the holiday quarter to 36.5 percent, up from 29.6 percent in the year ago quarter. Apple's year-over-year tablet growth was up 22.7 percent from 12.9 million shipments in Q4 2018.
IDC's full-year statistics tell a similar story, with Apple taking 34.6 percent of the 2019 tablet market on shipments of 49.9 million iPads, up 15.2 percent from 29.6 percent on 43.3 million units shipped in 2018.
Apple's growth came despite a period in which the worldwide tablet market declined 0.6 percent year over year during the fourth quarter of 2019, as global shipments fell to 43.5 million units. For the full year, the tablet market shrank 1.5 percent year over year as global shipments totaled 144 million units, according to IDC.
Samsung regained the second position behind Apple, despite another year-over-year decline in shipments. The company shipped 7 million units in the quarter, but even with growth across its detachable portfolio, the company couldn't offset the decline from its slate tablets.
Huawei and Amazon came third and fourth, shipping 4 million and 3.3 million units, respectively. Huawei saw a 2.8 percent decrease in growth year over year, while Amazon slumped by 29 percent over the same period. However, Amazon was the only other brand apart from Apple to see growth for the whole year (9.9 percent).
Lenovo was the other brand in the top 5 that recorded year-over-year growth in holiday quarter shipments. Its share slightly increased from 5.3 percent in 4Q18 to 5.8 percent in 4Q19. Lenovo's growth declined by 4.2 percent for the year.
Respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that the next iPad Pro update will come during the first half of 2020. Apple is said to be planning to release a next-generation model with upgraded Face ID and a rear-facing time-of-flight (ToF) camera system that would allow for 3D models to be captured using the iPad Pro and then edited with the Apple Pencil for an "all-new productivity experience."
