Global tablet shipments decline

Shipments of tablet devices have fallen since the 4th quarter of last year, with the IDC stating that this is likely due to manufacturers refocusing on other types of devices while consumers also hold off on buying tablets as well.

In the last quarter (Q2 2016) the majority of tablets that were shipped were Android (65%) followed by iOS (25%) and Windows taking the rest of the market share.

“The market has spoken as consumers and enterprises seek more productive form factors and operating systems – it’s the reason we’re seeing continued growth in detachables,” said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers. “At present, it’s difficult for Android to compete with iOS or Windows detachable products. However, the next 12 to 18 months will be very interesting as Google launches the next version of Android with better multi-tasking support and as they begin to bring together their two operating systems.”

It has also been observed that tablets with detachable keyboards were a bit more in demand as they were being incorporated as work devices by many users, but slate tablets still get the majority market share of the entire number of shipments.

“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,” said Jean Philippe Bouchard, research director, Tablets at IDC.

Specific to brand names, Apple‘s sales increased as the prices lowered on its older models of its tablets, Samsung sales still remain strong with its slate tablets, Lenovo is doing well in mostly the Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Huawei is still yet to make a mark with its Matebook. Check out the share by vendor of tablet sales in the 2nd quarter of 2016 (Q2 2016):