Amazon has been the big winner so far this year in the battle for a share of the tablet market, shipping 1.6 million units of its Fire device in Q2 2016 and posting year-on-year growth of 1,200% in sales.

Though the online retailer started from a low base — a market share of 0.3%, selling 100,000 units, in the same quarter last year — its achievement in going from that to 1.6 million tablets sold and a market share of 4% stands out, as total tablet sales declined by almost 12.5% year on year.

Worldwide tablet shipments, including both slates and detachables, reached 38.7 million in Q2 2016, according to preliminary data from International Data Corporation's worldwide quarterly tablet tracker. That’s down from 44.1 million last year, as vendors refocus their product lines and consumers hold off on purchases, and equates to a 12.3% fall in sales over the year.

The top five sellers, with market share, were: Apple (25.8%), Samsung (15.6%), Lenovo (6.6%), Huawei (5.6%), Amazon (4%). All others took a surprising 42.4% of total sales in Q2 2016. Apart from Amazon, the only others showing growth were Lenovo and Huawei, up 3.1% and 71% respectively.

In Association with

The overwhelming majority of tablets shipped this past quarter were Android-based systems (65%) followed by iOS, which captured 26%, and Windows for the remaining share. Though this has been the case for years, there are now signs of change as the Android vendor list has contracted and champions of the OS have begun to offer Windows-based products, hedging against the decline of Android.

Any growth in sales was in the detachables class — those with separate keyboards — but slate-form tablets are still in the vast majority with over three quarters of the market.

Analyst Jean Philippe Bouchard said: "While growth in the detachable category is undeniable, slates continue to represent the vast majority of the segment. Vendors like Amazon, with a very focused approach to positioning, price, and purpose, managed to capture a considerable share of the market. Slate sales are declining but they still serve a purpose and will do so for a long time to come.”

Apple's launch of its second detachable helped hold its decline to 9%, and also helped raise Apple's average selling price and revenue. Price reductions on previous generation iPads and the latest Pro iterations are expected to have the same effect for the remainder of 2016 as consumer and enterprise audiences evaluate their needs.

Samsung continues to hold the number 2 position in the rankings, with methodical coverage of price bands, features, and screen sizes. Samsung's results should get better as it arguably leaves the detachable category still untouched. Samsung's Galaxy View is not included in IDC's tablet taxonomy and doesn’t figure in the results.

Lenovo's strength is primarily in Asia/Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East & Africa (MEA). The company has expanded its share on the backs of sometimes esoteric designs. Tablets like the Yoga Tab 3 Pro offer a built-in projector and have allowed Lenovo to differentiate from other premium media-focused tablets. The majority of its shipments still come from the low-cost Lenovo Tab 2 and Lenovo Tab 3 lineups.