Q4 Tablet Shipments

Tablets shipments have declined year over year for the first time.

In the fourth quarter of 2014, 76.1 million tablets shipped worldwide, according to the International Data Corporation’s worldwide quarterly tablet tracker. Even though tablet shipments were down this quarter, they were up 4.4 percent in all of 2014 compared to 2013. A total of 229.6 million units shipped last year.

The study notes that Apple still leads the pack, holding onto more than a quarter of the global market share. The company shipped 21.4 million tablets in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Samsung shipped 11 million units. Although the company’s shipments were down for the quarter, Samsung’s shipments in 2014 grew one percent. Apple, on the other hand, experienced a 14.6 percent drop in shipments from 2013 to 2014.

IDC says this may be due to Apple’s recent roll out of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which may be cannibalizing iPad sales.