9.4 million Australians now own tablets

Total sales of tablet devices in Australia doubled to 4.8 million units during 2013, with 40% of the population owning tablets at the end of last year, according to new figures from Telsyte.

The figures, revealed in the Telsyte Australian Media Tablet Study 2014, also show that Apple tablets grew by 52% year-on-year to 2.6 million units in 2013.

Based on retail prices, the total Australian tablet market was worth $2.4 billion as of the end of 2014.

While Apple remains the clear market leader, Android devices are rapidly catching up, with sales up 186% to 1.9 million units during the same period.

The figures also forecast the penetration rate of tablets to exceed that of PCs and laptops in the middle of next year, with usage expected to hit 22 million devices by 2018.

Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi says computer purchasing decisions continue to be severely impacted by tablets.

“Australians are increasingly seeing their tablets as their main computing device in the home.

“This shift in preferences is creating new digital opportunities that span consumer services, education and entertainment.”

The strong growth rate for Android devices is being driven by a growing number of households owning more than one tablet and the proliferation of low-end devices.

Around one-in-five Australian households now own more than one tablet, with consumers often opting for a lower-cost device as the second tablet.

Tablets costing less than $200 now account for around 29% of all Australian tablets, with the segment forecast account for half of all tablet sales by 2018.

The growth of low-cost Android tablets in the Australian market has seen Apple’s market collapse from 72% in 2012 to 55% in 2013, with premium Android device makers, such as Samsung, also facing increasing price pressure.