Apple's grip on China's tablet market has loosened as Asian tech companies increase sales with cheaper Android tablet computers, a market report shows today.
IDC said that Apple supplied 28% of tablet computers in China during the three months from April to June, down from 49% dominance the same time last year.
The iPad maker was still the biggest tablet supplier in China, its key growth engine, but its momentum has slowed.
Apple sold 1.48 million iPads in the period, up 28% over a year earlier, but sales of Galaxy tablets made by Samsung Electronics quadrupled to 571,000 units.
Samsung claimed 11% tablet market share, up from 6%. Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker, said earlier this year that it aims to double its annual sales of tablet computers, hoping to close the gap with Apple.
China's Lenovo and Taiwan's ASUS and Acer also had a surge in their market share.
IDC said these companies benefited from offering cheaper tablets and from consumer familiarity with the Android operating system that is used in many smartphone models.
China is a key market for consumer technology companies as growth in sales of smartphones and tablets slows in developed countries. Apple chief executive Tim Cook told the official Xinhua News Agency in January that China will become the company's biggest market.
