IDC: Apple Facing First Year Of iPad Declines

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is set to see its first full-year decline in shipments for its iPad line of tablets since their 2010 launch, a market research company said Tuesday.

But Apple won't be unique in 2014.

Tablet sales growth is hitting a wall, slowing to just 7.2 percent in the current year, from 52.5 percent in 2013, according to International Data Corp.

Consumers are putting the brakes on new tablet purchases simply because device lifecycles for tablets have continued to lengthen, increasingly resembling those of PCs more than smartphones, according to International Data's Ryan Reith.

Reith said the lives of tablets are growing longer because of "legacy software support for older products," especially by Apple, and the increased use of smartphones for tasks previously reserved for tablets and PCs.

Apple's iPad sales will fall 12.7 percent in the current year, to 64.9 million units, according to International Data, while Google Inc's (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Android-based units will grow 16 percent to 159.5 million units.

Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows-based tablets will grow 67.3 percent to 10.9 million units.

The trend is likely to continue, with Apple iPad's compounded annual growth rate in the period 2014 to 2018 going to a -1.1 percent, while Androids grow at 5.9 percent and Windows at 38 percent.

Apple's market share by 2018 will have slipped to 24.5 percent, from 27.5 percent today. Android is expected to slip to 64 percent from 67.7 percent and Windows in 2008 will have an 11.4 percent market share, up from 4.6 percent today, according to International Data.

Unknowns clouding the company's crystal ball: reaction to Windows 10; what Google does in with its Android and Chrome operating systems; and Apple's rumored product line expansion.