Microsoft hasn't shared the actual sales numbers for the Surface tablets, leaving research firms to speculate. Strategy Analytics speculates that 3 million "Windows tablets" were shipped in Q1 2013, while Bloomberg claims that Microsoft sold only 1.5 million Surface tablets - 1.1 million Surface RTs and 400,000 Surface Pros - since their release in 2012.
IDC has just released their estimates for Q1 2013, pegging Surface sales at just 900,000, most of which are Surface Pros. Microsoft entered into the top five tablet vendors, alongside Apple, Samsung, ASUS (who makes the Nexus 7) and Amazon during the last quarter. Overall, Microsoft accounted for 1.8% of Q1 tablet sales, a drop in the ocean compared to Apple and Samsung's combined share of 58%.
Year-over-year, Apple has grown by a solid 63% with 19.5 million shipments, while Samsung has surged by 283% with 8.8 million shipments, up from 2.3 million in the same quarter last year. If IDC's numbers are correct, it means Microsoft is shipping 300,000 Surfaces per month or 10,000 per day. For contrast, Apple is shipping roughly 6.5 million iPads per month (216,000 per day). It is important to note that the iPad is an established brand while the Surface is still growing.
Windows RT accounted for just 0.4% of all Q1 2013 tablet shipments, while Windows was up 700% year-over-year to 3%. For the first time, Android surpassed iOS shipments with 27.8 million compared to 19.5 million; total year-over-year growth sits at 142% for the whole tablet industry.
Source: IDC
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