Apple iPad On The Verge Of Losing Tablet Market Control

Recent survey shows Android tablets growing to majority

The Apple iPad is a desirable device that has set the bar very high for all the other competitors in the tablet market. There current screen resolution is what everyone else is trying to achieve. And it is because of the quality of the product, Apple has pretty much controlled the market. But there are glimpses that there is a change afoot where Apple may be losing their leadership position in the world of tablets. And it is all because of Android and the 7 inch market segment.

Based on a very recent market study by Pew Internet & American Life Project, things are changing. They were measuring ownership and usage of tablets by adults in the US. In the comparison between 2011 and 2012, there are some obvious shifts in the information. One of the startling numbers produced is that 68% of those surveyed purchased their tablet in the last year. That number tells you just how fast things are changing. And they are going to continue to change.

In the Pew Internet & American Life Project survey, the startling number is the difference in market share between 2011 and 2012. In 2011, Apple pretty much controlled the market with a share of 81% in July. That shows the power that the iPad had. Android had a 15% share and everyone else had a 4% share. The Blackberry PlayBook is lost in that 4% share. Things looked very good for Apple.

But then things seem to be looking different for the future. Amazon announced and then released their 7 inch Kindle Fire before the holidays. And the sales took off. Barnes and Noble release their Nook Tablet which has been doing a decent job with sales. All of this after the previous survey results. Now we come forward to the July 2012 results and see a shift in the share. The iPad has dropped from 81% to 52% and that does not look good for Apple retaining control. The Android tablets grew from 15% to 48% and that is likely to increase significantly with the next survey. All the other tablets, such as the Blackberry PlayBook are not even showing up in the results.

This does not look good for Apple. And to make the situation even worse for them, these results were provided before 2 key events. The first was the release of the Nexus 7 from Google. The other was the announcement of the Kindle Fire HD. Both of these tablets are going to have an impact on the market share that Apple has. And they are both a 7 inch tablet, which is smaller than the current iPad.

The only potential to slow the slide would be for Apple to release the iPad Mini, At the moment, that is only a rumored device with no confirmation from Apple. The most current rumor has Apple sending out invites on October 10th with the official announcement happening on October 17th. If the rumored pricing is correct in the range of $249 to $299, Apple could retain some of what we expect them to lose. If they hit the $200 price point, they could make a big splash in the market and take back the majority share.

All of this looks to be inevitable for Apple and even with the release of the 7.85 iPad Mini, there are just too many competitors out there for them to keep up. It is like the iPhone as compared to Android smart phones. There is just no way they can stop the growing tide from over taking them.

Whether you prefer Apple's iPad to the Android tablets, the Android tablets probably have already taken the majority share. That is unless the iPad Mini comes out as rumored.