Samsung closing gap on Apple in tablet market

When it comes to tablets, Apple remains the dominant leader, but rival Samsung is catching up. Apple iPad sales fell from 19.5 million during the first quarter of 2013 to 16.4 million during that period in 2014. At the same, Samsung grew its tablet sales from 8.5 million to 11.2 million during the first quarter of 2014, according to figures released by IDC, an analysis firm.

Those sales caused Apple's share of the tablet market to fall from 40.2% in 2013 to 32.5% in the first quarter while Samsung grew its share of the market from 17.5% to 22.3%.

During the period, Samsung released a handful of new tablets, including the Galaxy NotePro and Galaxy TabPro, with numerous productivity features that were aimed toward professionals. The company also packaged its tablets with other devices and products in numerous carrier promotions. The tactics seem to be paying off.

"Samsung continues to work aggressively with carriers to drive tablet shipments through attractively priced smartphone bundles," IDC said in a statement.

The whole market struggled with sales during the first quarter of 2014. According to IDC, tablet sales grew only 3.9% from 2013. Along with Apple, Asus and Amazon also saw their tablet sales decrease compared with 2013.

"The rise of large-screen phones and consumers who are holding on to their existing tablets for ever longer periods of time were both contributing factors to a weaker-than-anticipated quarter for tablets and 2-in-1s," Tom Mainelli, IDC program vice president of devices and displays, said.