Android is on a roll, capturing 62 per cent of the global tablet market in 2013, according to statistics released by analyst house Gartner this week.

The company estimates that worldwide sales of tablets to end users reached 195.4 million units in 2013, a 68 per cent increase on the previous year.

While sales of iOS tablets grew in the fourth quarter of 2013, Apple’s share declined to 36 per cent in 2013 and market growth was fuelled by the low-end smaller screen tablet market and first time buyers, which allowed Android to capitalise.

“In 2013, tablets became a mainstream phenomenon, with a vast choice of Android-based tablets being within the budget of mainstream consumers while still offering adequate specifications,” said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner. “As the Android tablet market becomes highly commoditized, in 2014, it will be critical for vendors to focus on device experience and meaningful technology and ecosystem value — beyond just hardware and cost — to ensure brand loyalty and improved margins.”

With low cost purchases driving the sector, Gartner analysts said emerging markets recorded growth of 145 per cent in 2013, while mature markets grew 31 per cent. “Apple’s tablets remain strong in the higher end of the market and, Apple’s approach will continue to force vendors to compete with full ecosystem offerings, even in the smaller-screen market as the iPad mini sees a greater share”, said Cozza.

In 2013, Microsoft’s tablet volumes improved but share remained small. Despite Microsoft now acting more rapidly to evolve Windows 8.1, its ecosystem still failed to capture major consumers’ interest on tablets. “To compete, Microsoft needs to create compelling ecosystem proposition for consumers and developers across all mobile devices, as tablets and smartphones become key devices for delivering applications and services to users beyond the PC,” said Cozza.

But the analyst added that the tablet market has become a challenging environment for branded hardware-driven players. They are squeezed by service-driven and content-driven players, and aggressive prices from white-box vendors.

From a vendor perspective, Apple’s strong fourth quarter helped it to maintain the top position in the market in 2013, while Samsung, ranked second, exhibiting the highest growth of the worldwide tablet vendors, at 336 per cent.

Worldwide Tablet Sales to End Users by Operating System, 2013 (Units)

Source: Gartner (February 2014)

Worldwide Tablet Sales to End Users by Vendor, 2013 (Units)

Source: Gartner (February 2014)