Quality Android devices bite into Apple's UK tablet share

Google, Amazon and Samsung gain 19 points of share as iPad maker feels the pinch from both low-cost and premium rivals

Samsung, Amazon and Google have gained a cumulative 19 per cent of the UK tablet market in the last year as Apple's dominance begins to erode.

According to first-quarter stats from YouGov, eight million people, equating to more than 18 per cent of the UK adult population, own a tablet. This represents a rise of five points on the previous quarter.

Apple devices accounted for 63 per cent of the market in Q1, down from 73 per cent in the opening quarter of 2012. Samsung now holds 10 per cent of the UK tablet market, having more than doubled its share in the last year.

In the last year Amazon and Google have both come from zero to take five and eight per cent shares of the market, respectively. In better news for Apple, the recently released iPad Mini already accounts for four per cent of UK tablet sales. In the YouGov poll the compact device gained the highest user satisfaction score overall and was ranked top in eight out of nine quality areas.

John Gilbert, consulting director of YouGov Technology and Telecoms, said: "With a growing market, greater competition and falling prices, Apple was bound to lose some share. However, it is not simply a matter of inexpensive products flooding the market.

"It seems that Apple no longer has a monopoly on the 'premium' share as other brands emerge with near-equal satisfaction scores. Given the market's current expectations and considerations in purchasing tablets, we anticipate Apple to lose additional share throughout the coming year to Samsung, Google and Amazon."