It is safe to say that whenever we think of tablets, Apple’s iPad comes to mind. However it seems that despite the iPad’s popularity and place in pop culture, there are just some markets in which it isn’t doing as well as Apple would like. According to recent figures released by BCN, it seems that over in Japan, ASUS had actually managed to sell more tablets than Apple in the first half of 2014.
According to the report, ASUS saw their market share rise by an impressive 8% year-over-year in the first half of 2014, which gave them a total market share of 38.9%. This puts them slightly over Apple who currently commands a respectable 36.4% tablet market share in Japan, making it the first time ever that ASUS has held the top spot in Japan.
Unsurprisingly it seems that costs are one of the main reasons that ASUS is doing so well in Japan. For example the Nexus 7 (which is made by ASUS) is currently priced around 20,000 Yen in Japan, versus the iPad which is priced at 40,000, double the price. ASUS’ other offerings like the MeMo Pad is similarly priced at 20,000 Yen, thus making it a more affordable and attractive alternative to the iPad.
The report goes on to note that ASUS’ Windows-based tablets are apparently pretty popular as well, so we guess it isn’t ASUS’ Android tablets that are stealing the show. So, what do you guys make of it? Could Apple’s iPad be losing its popularity?