Before the pandemic, the tablet market was very discouraging in terms of shipments. However, with the increasing demand for large display devices, the tablet market is now bouncing back. According to IDC, a market research company, China’s tablet PC market will ship about 28.46 million units in 2021. This is a year-on-year increase of 21.8%. Furthermore, this is the highest growth rate in the past seven years. Specifically, the global tablet shipments in the fourth quarter of 2021 fell by 11.9% year-on-year to 45.54 million units due to slowing demand. For the full year of 2021, the total global tablet shipments increased by 2.9% year-on-year to 168 million units, the highest level since 2016. In the global market, Apple is far ahead with a 34.2% market share.
The data shows that Apple will sell a total of 57.8 million iPads in 2021. This is an increase of 8.4% over the same period last year and its market share to 34.2%. While Apple is in the first position, the shipments of Samsung and Lenovo (second and third) put together are less than Apple’s shipment. This shows the dominance that the company has in the tablet market.
It is worth mentioning that, like Xiaomi, Oppo and other manufacturers are entering the tablet market. This entry may usher in major changes in the future. At the same time, the original players are also increasing related investment.
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Tablet industry will see some serious development
IDC analysts said that at present, the hardware development of tablet PCs is serious, and it can only rely on the optimization of software and systems to improve user experience and increase the attractiveness and competitiveness of products. But 2022 is also a year of product optimization and technology accumulation. There have been significant product line optimization, adjustment, and multi-scenario product management. There have been improvements in tablet technology such as the display as well as the system ecology.
The tablet market is becoming so attractive and manufacturers are beginning to optimize their systems. We already have the Android 12L which is a system dedicated to large displays. This includes tablets, large screens, and foldable smartphones. With these optimizations for tablets, more users are beginning to consider tablets as a good option.
More technologies for the tablet industry are on their way. When the development of these technologies is mature and complete, the tablet market will continue to grow. However, with many brands having an interest in the tablet market, the competition is increasing. Nevertheless, it will take serious work for any brand to surpass Apple in the global tablet market.