Intel is on track for shipping 40 million tablets in 2014

Oct 3, 2014 13:33 GMT  ·  By

Earlier today we told you that Intel continued to place its apples in the tablet basket, despite serious indications that the tablet market is slowing down and demand for such products isn’t so intense anymore.

Still, the company might have good reasons to push this agenda. New information surfaced via a report from Strategy Analytics suggests that Intel has managed to climb a few positions in the top of tablet applications processors sales.

Apple still rules, but Intel is getting close

According to the research firm, Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Samsung were the top-five AP share-holders for Q2 2014, with Intel climbing two positions in the top.

However, Apple and its iPads remain at the top holding 26% of the market share. Chipzilla comes in at number two with 19%, while Qualcomm came third with 17%.

Judging by these figures, Strategy Analytics estimates Intel is on track to shipping the 40 million tablets by the end of the year, a self-imposed goal, the chip giant took upon itself to complete.

We should note that NVIDIA will soon make a breakthrough in the ecosystem, as Strategy Analytics predicts more and more tablets bundling the 64-bit Tegra K1 SoC processor will make their way into tablets.

Intel arrived quite late to the mobile market, but it has struggled to make a difference ever since and it appears its efforts are making a real difference.

Tablets with Intel chips are everywhere these days

As you might have already noticed for yourself, Intel’s chips have made their way into a plethora of tablets, from the most expensive to the cheapest. The most recent example is supermarket giant Tesco’s Hudl 2 budget slate which takes advantage of a quad-core Intel Atom chip.

Intel might not be able to surpass Apple this year, but 2015 could hold the key to cracking the competition as Chipzila has a lot of plans related to its tablet solutions.

For starters, it should roll out the Cherry Trail platform in the first quarter of 2015, while volume production is scheduled to start in March.

Furthermore, Intel is working on Atom Z3000 processors designed to go into 64-bit tablets. Last but not least, we should remind you that Intel partnered up with low-cost chip maker Rockchip to develop the next-gen SoFIA chips for Android tablets.

Intel has high hopes that its entry into the lofty Chinese market will be made easier if it relies on Rockchip’s good name in the country, but the company will most likely encounter a few obstacles set up by competitors such as Qualcomm or MediaTek which are also targeting the throne of tablet supremacy.