Windows 8, the operating system Microsoft designed for touch PCs, was still finding it hard to capture a sizeable audience. Analysts said that whereas PCs were becoming a thing of the past, tablets were the future. In addition, Microsoft's Surface RT were also experiencing slow sales. There was also limited backing from the company's partner hardware companies.

According to Strategy Analytics, there were a total of 51.7 million units of tablet shipments worldwide for the second quarter of the year. This was an increased of 43% from 36.1 million units during the same period last year. However, of the total shipments in Q2 2013, Windows-operated tablets were only 2.3 million shipments in the quarter.

Strategy Analytics went on further to cite that a lack of apps coming from big names was a big reason for low market share of Windows 8 and Surface RT tablets. "The shortage of apps continues to be a problem, with seemingly little incentive for developers to work on the platform," stated Strategy Analytics.