Citi analyst Glen Yeung believes sales of Apple’s flagship iPad will continue to decrease as smaller tablets – including the iPad Mini – steadily erode the iPad’s market share.
Indeed, says Yeung, the iPad mini has already affected sales of the larger tablet, as fourth quarter sales of the iPad fell 9 percent and 29 percent in Japan year-over- year.
Meanwhile, 7-inch Android tablets, such as the Google Nexus 7, Samsung Galaxy Tab, and Amazon Kindle Fire, managed to claim 41.2 percent of the tablet market share in the fourth quarter – up from 12.6 percent in the second quarter.
Concurrently, 10-inch tablets dropped from 67.3 percent to 40.6 percent during the same time period.
“Beyond simply the overall share loss, the data reveals a particular slowdown in 10-inch iPad sales in mature markets,” Yeung explained in an industry note obtained by CNET.
“After analyzing the data, we have new concerns about the health of the 10-inch tablet market and, absent any material innovations (we do not count a Retina Mini or lighter/thinner iPad 5 among these), we remain concerned about Apple’s ability to maintain market share.”
In related news, Hearst Magazines president David Carey recently noted that smaller tablet form factors has prompted a surge in magazine consumption from female subscribers. As Carey explains, while 10-inch tablets seem to be just fine for men, women are not exactly enamoured with the form factor.
