Apple’s PC share drops as iPads cannibalize Macs

Apple devices 001 (iPad, iPhone 5, MacBook Air)

The PC market – once comprised of hulking desktop machines and slim laptops – increasingly relies on tablets for a fresh infusion of sales. The latest instance of this new world order comes from market researcher Canalys, out with its PC forecast which includes tablet shipments.

Viewing tablets as PCs results in Apple losing more than eleven percent in PC sales. Why? Because iPad sales are cooling amid lack of a refresh. Although just twenty percent of Apple sales are traditional PCs, the firm continues to lead the PC market. However, in a post-PC era, delays of introducing a new iPad means Apple’s lead was trimmed during the second quarter of 2013, the research firm announced Wednesday…

Apple’s share of the PC market fell to 17.1 percent in the second quarter, down from 19.4 percent during the same period in 2012, according to Canalys.

“With tablet vendors attacking Apple on price it must bring fresh innovation to future generations of its iPad range if it is to maintain the lead it has built in the PC market,” warns the research firm.

Meanwhile, Lenovo used its growing base of tablets to gain the No. 2 spot, rising 7.3 percent between the second quarter of 2012 and the same period this year.

apple-pc-shipments-w-tablets

Android’s poster child Samsung fell to fourth place as HP used its unmatched reach and connections to fuel a comeback sparked by the introduction of Slate 7, the firm’s first Android tablet.

Believe it or not, HP is actually particularly well-suited to introduce Android into business. Google’s Android “remains weak in management and security, which is preventing commercial uptake,” the research firm announced.

Despite the weakness in attracting business customers, Android’s share of the PC market more than doubled, growing to seventeen percent during the second quarter, up from six percent in 2012.

That growth was highlighted by Samsung, which saw its share of the PC market (a market, remember, kept afloat mostly by tablets) grow by 106 percent. Still, the South Korean conglomerate has just 9.9 percent of the worldwide PC market.

If not for puffing up the numbers with tablet shipments, the majority of PC makers would remain in negative territory. Remember the days when PC manufacturers fought against calls to classify tablets PCs?

Now that classification is their only hope against post-PC companies such as Apple.

Funny, eh?