Apple rounded off its second quarter tablet sale at 1.4 million units.
When was the last time that you heard one of your friends buying a tablet?
If you are unable to recount, then it is because the tablet market is shrinking since the last several years, with smartphones going bigger and feature-rich, the decline in tablet sale has become chronic.
According to a report published by IDC, the trend has been there for some time and it has continued even in the second quarter of 2017 but not that steep as in the first quarter of 2017.
In the first quarter of 2017, tablet sale saw a decline of 8.5 percent but when it comes to the second quarter, the decline has been contained to 3.4 percent; 37.9 million tablet units.
Much of the appreciation for stopping the decline goes to companies such as Apple, Huawei, and Amazon, which saw an increase in their tablet sale during the second quarter of this year.
The report said that in the second quarter Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Amazon, and Lenovo made the maximum tablet shipments.
Apple rounded off its second quarter tablet sale at 1.4 million units, which is an increase of 30.1 percent of its market share, which was at 25.4 percent in the second quarter of 2016.
Apple’s increase in the market share comes in the backdrop of the Cupertino-based company launching its new iPad for $329 and an upgraded version of its 10.5 inch iPad Pro.
Top Five Tablet Companies, Worldwide Shipments, Market Share, and Growth, Second Quarter 2017 (preliminary results, shipments in millions) | |||||
Company | 2Q17 Unit Shipments | 2Q17 Market Share | 2Q16 Unit Shipments | 2Q16 Market Share | Year-Over-Year Growth |
1. Apple | 11.4 | 30.1% | 10.0 | 25.4% | 14.7% |
2. Samsung | 6.0 | 15.8% | 6.0 | 15.4% | -0.8% |
3. Huawei | 3.0 | 8.0% | 2.1 | 5.3% | 47.1% |
4. Amazon.com | 2.4 | 6.4% | 1.6 | 4.1% | 51.7% |
5. Lenovo | 2.2 | 5.7% | 2.5 | 6.5% | -14.6% |
Others | 12.9 | 33.9% | 17.0 | 43.4% | -24.6% |
Total | 37.9 | 100.0% | 39.3 | 100.0% | -3.4% |
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, August 3, 2017 |
Coming to the arch rivals of Apple – Samsung, the tablet sales have almost remained same but their market share rose from an earlier 15.4 percent to 15.8 percent in the second quarter of 2017.
However, when it comes to the market of Huawei and Amazon, they displayed a decent record with the Chinese manufacturer selling 3 million units compared to the 2.1 million of the first quarter owning an 8 percent market share compared to the 5.3 percent.
Amazon also recorded an increase in the number of tablet units shipped from 1.6 million to 2.4 million, acuminating a market share of 6.4 percent from its earlier 4.1 percent.
Both Huawei and Amazon registered an overall growth rate of close to 50 percent.
The increase in the tablet sale of Amazon was propelled by the newly launched Amazon File Line, an ultra-thin tablet that has kid-friendly features.
In the case with Lenovo, the figures came as a disappointment as its market share declined to 5.7 percent from earlier 6.5 percent. The number of units shipped by Lenovo also saw a decrease with just 2.2 million compared to the 2.5 million of the last quarter.
IDC figures claim that when the total units shipped by all five manufacturers are put together it makes a total of 37.9 million, registering a year-over-year loss of 3.4 percent.
According to the experts in IDC, the decline could continue to the third quarter and, if Microsoft and Apple launch new tablets in during the middle of the year, the final quarter could give better results.