ABI Research: Tablet shipments expected to exceed 200 million units in 2014

In the first quarter of this year, most tablet computer suppliers saw a huge 30% drop in shipments. Despite this, market intelligence research firm ABI Research still predicts that this part of the market will resume growth in the remaining six months of this year, with branded OEMs shipping more than 200 million units in 2014. In addition, ABI also pointed out in its latest market forecast that this year will be a watershed in the tablet computer installation base - the number of tablet computers using the Android operating system will exceed Apple's iOS system products for the first time.

"Tablet hardware sales from branded OEMs could reach $85 billion this year," said Jeff Orr, senior business director at ABI Research.

Chipset suppliers such as MediaTek, Qualcomm and Samsung are also reaping the rewards of tablets shipped to the Asia-Pacific region. ABI Research predicts that China and India combined will account for more than 35% of tablet shipments in the region in 2014. Tablets manufactured in and for the Chinese market have made a huge impact in the white box (unbranded) product market, and the pressure to meet user demand for local service and technical support is increasing.

Despite the above changes in the tablet market, Apple's iPad is expected to remain the top OEM brand in 2014, while Samsung Electronics, which ranks second, will continue to narrow the gap with Apple. It is expected that by the end of 2014, the shipments of these two leading brands will account for about 70% of the total global tablet shipments.