Apple seemed to be losing steam as the world’s tech giant, posting disappointing sales figures in the second quarter for its flagship smartphone and tablet lineups.

The number of iPads shipped in the April-June period this year dropped 14 percent on-year to 14.6 million, according to Strategy Analytics Tuesday, pulling down Apple’s market share in the tablet sector from 47.2 percent to 28.3 percent.

This was the first time for the California-based firm to see its market share drop below 30 percent since its launch in 2010.

Apple insisted the lagging sales were just temporary.

“The sagging sales and decreasing market share are because we have not released a new model yet. It is a temporary ‘low season’ for Apple,” said an official from the tech firm, hinting that sales figures would see an upturn when the next Apple gadgets are released.

The official declined to comment on the release date of any new products, adding “most of the low- and mid-range Apple tablets or handsets much talked about online, including the Federal Communications Commission-approved iPhone, are just rumors.”

He also said there was no anticipated release of colored iPhones, photos of which went viral recently.

Apple tablets, whose market share reached their peak of 79.2 percent in 2010, have continued to lose ground to tablets running on Google’s Android operating system. Market share dropped to 52.7 percent in 2011, and to 38.4 percent in 2012.

On the smartphone front, Apple also seems to have lost growth momentum during the second quarter, securing a 13.6 percent market share, down more than 4 percent from the figure in the same period last year.

Apple sold 31 million iPhones in the second quarter, 6 million fewer than in the first quarter.

Although some analysts said that Apple performed well above market predictions in the second quarter, it was the iPhone 4, first released two years ago, that drove the sales rather than the latest model iPhone 5.

Some market watchers expect that Apple will diversify its product lineups to spread risks due to the saturated high-end smartphone market and cutthroat competition with rivals such as Samsung.

Apple’s products are often positioned among high-end smart gadgets, which Apple attributes to its relentless efforts to provide the best services and products.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)