Apple's dominance in the tablet market is set to continue until at least 2016, according to a report by Gartner, but Android's phenomenal growth will also close the gap and threaten the company's lead in subsequent years.
iPad sales were at just under 40 million units in 2011, but are expected to grow to nearly 72 million this year, 99.5 million in 2013, and just under 170 million by 2016, cementing Apple's lead.

However, Android's growth is expected to be far greater than that of Apple's. 17.3 million Android tablets were sold last year, and this will more than double to 37.9 million this year. Sales will nearly double next year to 61.7 million units and more than double by 2016 to 137.7 million units. If this growth continues then Android has a strong chance of taking Apple's crown in the second half of this decade.

Microsoft is also expected to see strong growth with the advent of a Windows 8 tablet, starting from 4.8 million units this year and growing to 14.5 million next year. Gartner expects this to boom to 43.6 million units by 2016, giving Microsoft a sizeable slice of the pie, but ensuring it stays well behind its rivals.

All of this tablet growth will mean that overall sales across the tablet industry will jump from 60 million units last year to 118.9 million this year, 182.5 million in 2013, and a whopping 369.2 million units by 2016 as tablet prices drop and the market is flooded with competitors.


Read more: Apple tablet dominance to continue until 2016, Android closing the gap by VR-Zone.com