Android dominates tablet market as the iPad stumbles in Q3

It’s not exactly news that Android has taken over the bulk of the smart device market, but in Q3 2013, Android appears to have claimed yet another title from Apple: The most revenue from tablet sales in a quarter. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty calculated that Android tablets were generating more revenue than iPads based on IDC’s numbers from October, which showed very little year-over-year growth for iPads and a major loss in Apple’s worldwide tablet market share.

“For the first time, Android devices accounted for a greater share of the market in revenue terms than iOS,” wrote Huberty in a note to her clients. “Android revenue share reached 46.2 percent in 3Q13, for the first time exceeding iPad share of 45.6 percent. Android’s unit share grew to 66.7 percent from 58.5 percent a year ago, largely driven by Samsung and Lenovo, while iPad share declined to 29.7 percent from 40.2 percent.”

Despite the Android victory, iPad shipments should see drastic gains over the holidays with the release of the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini. Other than a constantly expanding lineup of capable, affordable Android slates, the only other thing that might stop Apple from rebounding is the risk of supply constraints.