Today's Edition
SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
The global tablet market experienced a significant resurgence in the second quarter of 2024, according to the latest data from International Data Corporation (IDC).
Shipments climbed by a robust 22.1 percent year-over-year (YoY), reaching a total of 34.4 million units.
The positive results are a product of not so-good performance in the same quarter last year, coupled with product refreshes from many top brands and replacement cycle.
The volumes are comparable to the pre-pandemic years but not to the unprecedented sales witnessed during the pandemic.
Apple has been maintaining steady dominance in the tablet segment with the company shipping over 12.3 million units in the second quarter, growing by 18.2 percent year over year (YoY).
With the launch of the 11" and 13" iPad Air and iPad Pro models, the company was finally able to record growth in the market.
iPad volumes grew across the globe except for China, where competition from local players like Huawei and Xiaomi negatively impacted the company, the IDC data showed.
Samsung ranked second with shipments of 6.9 million units in Q2, which represents YoY growth of 18.6 percent.
The vendor managed to grow despite not having any major product launches.
Lenovo captured the third position this quarter with YoY growth of 16.7 percent and shipments of 2.5 million units.
The company's detachable tablets recorded much higher annual growth (39.7 percent) than its slate tablets (11.7 percent).
Huawei held the fourth position this quarter with solid year-over-year growth of 40.3% and shipments of 2.3 million units.
The vendor introduced a new tablet, MatePad 11.5S, which has shown great market performance and the June online promotions in China further aided growth.
Xiaomi finished the quarter in the fifth position. The company's shipments grew 94.7% year over year to 2 million units.
Beyond China and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan), Xiaomi has made significant gains in the European market with impressive growth in Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and many other countries.
"The 2Q24 results signal that the market has moved beyond the pandemic. We expect the refresh cycle and growth in emerging markets to continue aiding the recovery in the near term," said Anuroopa Nataraj, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.
"Long-term gains for the market depend on the vendors' ability to build devices that can carve a niche for tablets – one that includes innovation and differentiation."
The tablet market witnessed a shift in market share dynamics during Q2 2024.
While the overall market expanded, the dominance of traditional leaders faced challenges. Apple, the former market leader, experienced a slight decline in its market share from 37 percent to 35.8 percent.
Samsung also followed suit, dropping from 20.6 percent to 20.1 percent. Lenovo's position was relatively stable, with a minor decrease from 7.6 percent to 7.3 percent.
Conversely, Huawei and Xiaomi emerged as key beneficiaries, growing their market shares to 6.8 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively, from 5.9 percent and 3.7 percent in the previous year.
The surge in market share for Huawei and Xiaomi can be attributed to their aggressive product launches and strong performance in key markets.
This analysis indicates a changing landscape in the tablet market, with new players gaining traction and challenging the established order.
