As tablet growth slows, Apple may face a year-long iPad sales contraction
Apple’s iPad will be hit hard this year as global tablet shipments and sales growth slow dramatically, especially in the markets where the Cupertino, Calif. company has historically been strongest: North American and Europe, analysts said last week.
According to researcher IDC, global tablet shipments will grow just 6.5% compared to 2013, a major revision of earlier forecasts that as recently as five months ago predicted tablets would post year-over-year gains in 2014 of 19.4%, or triple the new number.
And virtually all the growth that will occur this year will take place in emerging markets, which will see a 12% year-over-year increase in shipments. In North America and Western Europe — still strongholds of Apple even as sales in China climb — the tablet growth rate will be zero.
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