Samsung and Amazon Tied for Second Place in Tablet Market as Apple's Shares Fall

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwired - Oct 15, 2014) - In advance of Apple's event this week, Parks Associates announced new research today showing Amazon and Samsung are locked in a tight race for second place behind Apple in the tablet market, which overall shows signs of cooling even as adoption remains high. Parks Associates' 360 View: Mobility and the App Economy, which highlights and analyzes results from a 1Q 2014 survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households, finds 16% have an Amazon tablet and 14% have a Samsung tablet, while Apple's share has dropped from 46% in 1Q 2012 to 37%, which includes a combination of the iPad and the iPad Mini.

"Over 60% of U.S. broadband households now have a tablet, and 52% own both a smartphone and a tablet, up from 25% in 2011," said Tejas Mehta, research analyst, Parks Associates. "Tablet sales in recent quarters have been hampered by a longer replacement cycle compared to smartphones', a lack of new features, and the popularity of phablets, which negatively affects sales of smaller-sized tablets."

Parks Associates analysts noted that these findings point to more price-based competition and potentially less revenue in the tablet market if tablet brands fail to innovate. They believe that Apple is hoping to reverse this trend with its upcoming announcement on October 16, where the company is expected to refresh its iPad line with new features such as the anticipated Apple Pay on iPad. This feature would be integrated with its Passport feature and available as a payment option for in-app transactions.

"Apple Pay on iPad can go a long way in helping Apple arrest its shrinking market share in the tablet marketplace," Mehta said. "Apple already announced Apple Pay with its iPhone 6, and the company has the clout to secure the necessary support from major merchants. If Apple is able to deliver a seamless payment experience, with tight security and broad merchant support, the firm could turn the mobile wallet into a differentiator for the tablet market."

Apple Pay promises features like touch ID integration, payment tokenization, iTunes integration, payment network support, e-commerce functionality, and NFC support.

360 View: Mobility and the App Economy finds the Android ecosystem is larger in terms of users but that Apple's iOS ecosystem is more robust for app usage and expenditure.

• The average iPhone user uses 7.3 apps on a monthly basis, compared to 6.2 apps for the average Android phone user.
• iPhone and iPad owners use, on average, one more app per month than Android phone and tablet users, even though both segments download roughly the same number of apps per month.
• iOS users also spend more, with 22% of iPad owners and 23% of iPhone owners spending $1 or more per month on apps. These differences in expenditure are a natural extension of higher incomes among iOS users.
• 14% of U.S. broadband households use both an iPhone and an iPad; 15% use both an Android phone and an Android tablet; 11% use one Android device and one iOS device.
• 70% of U.S. broadband households with a household income of $100,000 or more own both a tablet and a smartphone.
  
  

Tejas Mehta is available to comment on developments in the tablet market, including Apple's expected announcement. To schedule an interview with Tejas or to request specific research data from Parks Associates, please contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com.

About Parks Associates
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.

The company's expertise includes digital media and platforms, entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, support services, consumer apps, advanced advertising, consumer electronics, energy management, and home control systems and security.

Each year, Parks Associates hosts industry webcasts, the CONNECTIONS™ Conference Series, and Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer. http://www.parksassociates.com