Report: Apple's iPad Has Dominated US Tablet Sales In 2013

by Joe White

December 29, 2013

Apple’s iPad is continuing to dominate U.S. personal computing device sales, and according to recent data the iPad indeed drastically outsold both Android- and Windows-powered tablets this past year. The data comes from the NPD Group, which also had some interesting information to share concerning notebook sales, too.

Out of all personal computing devices sold between January and November 2013, the iPad (the 9.7-inch iPad and the iPad mini combined) accounted for 15.8 percent. This is a lesser figure than the iPad’s share of 2012’s sales, which was slightly higher at 17.1 percent, but it’s nevertheless bigger than the shares attributed to both Android- and Windows-powered tablets.

The NPD Group notes that Android-powered tablets accounted for 8.7 percent, while Windows-powered tablets accounted for 2.2 percent. Both are up by more than double last year’s figures (4.2 percent for Android tablets, and 0.8 for Windows tablets), but each one is dwarfed by sales of Apple’s iPad.

In its report, the NPD Group explained:

Tablet sales captured more than 22 percent of all personal computing device sales sold through the commercial channel through November, Windows tablet sales nearly tripled off a very small base, and Android tablet sales grew more than 160 percent. Apple iPad sales accounted for 59 percent of the volume in the tablet market.

More interesting, however, is the rise in popularity of Chromebooks this past year. In fact, for 2013 Google’s Chromebooks outsold Apple’s MacBook notebooks by a substantial amount; Chromebooks accounted for 9.6 percent of personal computing sales, while Apple notebooks accounted for 1.8 percent.

NPD’s vice president of industry analysis, Stephen Baker, said: “New products like Chromebooks, and reimagined items like Windows tablets, are now supplementing the revitalization that iPads started in personal computing devices. It is no accident that we are seeing the fruits of this change in the commercial markets as business and institutional buyers exploit the flexibility inherent in the new range of choices now open to them.”

This past year, Apple’s iPad and its MacBook notebooks have been refreshed. The iPad Air gained an enhanced processor and a slimmer form factor, while the iPad mini got its long-anticipated Retina display. Apple’s new MacBook Pro notebooks, on the other hand, are thinner, lighter, and faster.

Despite this, sales of iPads and MacBooks indeed fell this past year, NPD explains. Did you pick up a new Apple-made tablet or notebook?