Strategy Analytics has released statistics on the global tablet PC market in the second quarter of this year. Shipments were up about 5% year over year to 45.2 million units.
Analysts say demand is boosted by the ongoing pandemic; with users around the world buying tablets for home entertainment and the Internet. At the same time, the global shortage of electronic components has a negative impact on the industry. Therefore, it is likely that sales will decline in the second half of this year.
The undisputed market leader is Apple, with 15.8 million iPads shipped during the quarter, with a 35% share. In second place is Samsung with 8.2 million tablet computers and a result of 18%. “Bronze” went to Lenovo – 4.7 million gadgets sold and 10% of the market.
The top five also included Amazon and Huawei, which supplied 4.2 million and 2.1 million gadgets, respectively. These companies occupied 9% and 5% of the global industry. All other market players collectively control approximately 23% of its volume in piece terms.
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The tablet market is growing but suffering from a lack of components
Hybrid work and more digitized classrooms continue to drive record tablet demand midway through 2021, as Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, and Amazon all posted strong results. However, supply constraints negatively affected some major vendors from meeting high demand slightly earlier than expected, raising questions about what the second half of the year will bring. As the COVID pandemic remains a key concern around the world, this tension between high demand and low component supply will test vendors and their channel partners as both Back to School and winter holiday shopping looms.
Eric Smith, Director of Connected Computing said, “Tablet shipments were essentially flat in Q2 2021 at 45.2 million units in comparison to Q1 2021 as supply constraints hitting the tablet market very fast. Hybrid working and virtual learning options continue to fuel high demand for mobile computing devices, but vendors will face increasing supply shortages for the rest of 2021. If higher component and transportation costs make their way into tablet price tags as expected; the competitive environment for mobile computing devices will be intense.”
Chirag Upadhyay, Industry Analyst added, “The Android tablet market is undergoing big changes as vendors retool their portfolios for more productivity solutions for the hybrid work and digital learning era. Samsung leads the segment with its Galaxy Tab S7 including premium features like 5G connectivity; while Lenovo recently released its Tab P11 device at a lower price point than most detachables on the market. Even Amazon is addressing this massive need with its newest Fire HD 10 Productivity Bundle, which includes Office 365 access.”
