The analyst firm, Canalys, is reporting that tablet shipments worldwide fell to their lowest levels in the first quarter since the start of the pandemic. In Q1 2023, shipments fell to 31.7 million units, down 18% year-over-year. In the short term, Canalys expects shipments to hover around pre-pandemic levels. Longer term, the market will pick up due to the premium consumer, commercial, and education segments.
Canalys noted that tablet shipments tend to drop off following the holiday period. This year, it was more pronounced due to the cost of living crisis hitting many countries around the world. In addition, there’s a correction taking place following the large increase in demand through the pandemic when working from home became popular. It said companies are now recalibrating expectations for more modest demand.
Discussing the appeal of tablets in education, Himani Mukka, Research Manager at Canalys, said:
“Beyond consumers, tablet vendors will also see future growth opportunities from commercial and education deployments. There has been some stagnation in procurement from businesses and the public sector amid economic challenges, but budgets are set to rematerialize. Education demand in Asian markets will be a big volume driver, particularly for low-to-mid-range Android devices.”
Of the top five tablet manufacturers, all saw annual growth declines. The company that saw the largest decline was Lenovo at -37.0%. The company with the smallest decline was Huawei at -4.3% but this was the smallest of the top five brands to begin with. The market leaders, Apple and Samsung, saw slight increases in their market share year-over-year to 38.9% and 21.2% respectively.
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