OPA: iOS And Android Level In U.S. Tablet Market, Penetration 47% By 2013, $2.6B Spent On Apps In 2012
Apple has captured mindshare in the tablet market with its iPad, but when it comes to actual usage, in the U.S. it is actually neck-and-neck with its chief rival, Android …
Context & Ripple Effects
The usage story has flipped twice already: back in July 2010 the iPad blasted past Android in usage share, then through 2011 Android chipped away at shipments — first gaining in Q4 per researcher data, then stealing roughly 20% of the tablet market from iPad over the year. OPA's new numbers close the loop on the demand side: despite Apple's grip on tablet mindshare, actual U.S. usage between iOS and Android tablets is now level.
The pickup pattern matters too — VentureBeat, Marketing Land, Marketing Pilgrim and Internet2Go all ran the story on or about June 18, which reads as advertising-trade interest rather than gadget-press interest. That fits the payload: a projected 47% U.S. household penetration by 2013 and $2.6B spent on tablet apps in 2012 are reach-and-spend figures aimed at media buyers, not spec sheets.
First-order effects
- Media buyers who treated 'tablet' as shorthand for iPad now have an OPA-confirmed reason to split tablet buys evenly between iOS and Android, since the two platforms deliver comparable U.S. usage reach.
- App publishers with tablet offerings face a $2.6B U.S. app-spend pool that is no longer effectively iOS-only at the usage level, putting pressure on iOS-first release strategies.
Second-order effects
- Ad networks and measurement vendors will be pushed to price and report Android tablet inventory as a first-class category alongside iPad, since parity claims from OPA are only actionable if third-party measurement confirms them.
- Apple's ability to command iPad-only premiums in advertising packages weakens if reach parity holds, forcing its publisher and agency relationships to compete on engagement quality rather than exclusive audience.
Third-order effects
- If OPA's 47% penetration projection lands in 2013, tablets stop being an early-adopter channel and become a mainstream distribution surface where every publisher and developer maintains a two-platform posture by default.
- A durable iOS-Android usage duopoly would entrench the same structure the smartphone market already settled into, with platform strategy decided by portfolio economics rather than single-device bets.
The trend: The U.S. tablet market is maturing from an iPad monoculture into a two-platform duopoly judged by usage and ad reach rather than device mindshare.