To Apple and Samsung: Brace Yourselves, There is Competition

Apple and Samsung, who traditionally owned the tablet market, are hearing footsteps of competitors walking up their stairs as both companies have lost market share, while two other companies have gained, in the last quarter.

Lenovo and ASUS have picked up considerable market share in the last quarter, not enough to cross over Apple and Samsung's dominance but enough the pose a threat.

"Until recently, Apple, and to a lesser extent Samsung, have been sitting at the top of the market, minimally impacted by the progress from competitors," said IDC worldwide quarterly tablet tracker research analyst Jitesh Ubrani.

"Now we are seeing growth amongst the smaller vendors and a leveling of shares across more vendors as the market enters a new phase."

Overall, the company recorded 49.3 million tablet shipments from vendors over the second quarter of 2014 and found an 11 percent in crease in the same period last year when the vendor sold just 44.4 million.

A year ago, Apple saw a 9.3 percent drop with shipments dropping from 14 million to 13.3 million. Its market share dropped from 33 percent to 26.9 percent.

There has been much talk about Apple's iPad struggles and although the Cupertino-based company had a great quarter, the iPad was their only blemish. There is hope, however, as the company will roll out a fresh batch of iPads in the coming months, and Apple also inked an enterprise deal with IBM.

Samsung saw a drop as well. From 18.8 percent last year, the company dropped to 17.2 percent.

Lenovo saw a 64.7 percent increase from 1.5 million tablets shipped last year, to 2.4 million shipped this quarter. The company's market share thus increased from 3.3 percent to 4.9 percent, and reached third overall.

Asus was fourth, moving 2 million tablets and reached a 4.5 percent market share.