Apple maintains tablet market share lead despite selling 9% fewer units

The iPad continues to lead the market
The iPad continues to lead the market

Apple shipped the most tablets during the second quarter of 2014 (13.3 million), despite selling 9% fewer units than it did during Q2 of 2013. Apple's market share decreased 7.1% year-over-year -according to data from IDC - but the Cupertino, Calif.-based company maintains its market share lead with approximately 27% of overall tablets sold worldwide.

During the second quarter of 2014, 49.3 million tablets were shipped worldwide, an increase of 11% compared with the same quarter in 2013.

Samsung sold 8.5 million tablets in the world during the quarter. Samsung's market share also slipped, down 1.6%, compared with last year. However, the company holds 17.2% of the current market share. This month, Samsung released the Samsung Galaxy Tab S, a 10.5-inch and 8.4-inch tablet that is 0.9mm thinner than the iPad Air.

Lenovo and ASUS neck-and-neck

Lenovo and ASUS held the third and fourth spots in the rankings, having sold 2.4 and 2.3 million units, respectively. Lenovo holds a 4.9% market share and ASUS is slightly behind at 4.6%. Lenovo witnessed the greatest year-over-year growth during the quarter, having sold 64.7% more units than it did during Q2 2013.

In April, Lenovo unveiled revamped A-Series 7-, 8- and 10.1-inch tablets. Asus teased the Asus Transformer Book V in June. The new device is an Android laptop that can transform into a tablet and a phone.

Acer sold 1 million units during the quarter, which was good enough for a 2% market share. However, the company sold 36.3% fewer tablets than it did during Q2 of last year. In May, Acer announced the Iconia Tab 8, a Wi-Fi-only tablet with an 8-inch 1920 x 1200 anti-fingerprint display.