Tablet Shipments Declined In the Third Quarter
The worldwide tablet market recorded lower shipments for the fourth straight quarter with 48.7 million units shipped in the third quarter of 2015 (3Q15), according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC). Despite signs of a slight seasonal improvement, shipments were down -12.6% year over year, further highlighting the challenges the tablet market is facing.
At the close of 2014, IDC estimated the installed base of tablets to be 581.9 million globally, which was up 36% from 2013 but slowing quickly. With mature markets like North America, Western Europe, and Asia/Pacific well past 100 million active tablets per region, the opportunities for growth are getting fewer.
"We continue to get feedback that tablet users are holding onto devices upwards of four years," said Ryan Reith, Program Director with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers. "We believe the traditional slate tablet has a place in the personal computing world. However, as the smartphone installed base continues to grow and the devices get bigger and more capable, the need for smaller form factor slate tablets becomes less clear. With shipment volumes slowing over four consecutive quarters, the market appears to be in transition."
In response to these challenges, the industry is seeing growing interest from vendors in new form factors, with detachable tablets becoming a clear focus for many. While detachable tablets have held just a single digit percentage of the overall tablet market, IDC expects this share to increase dramatically over the next 18 months. However, the shift toward detachables presents some new challenges. In particular, the mix of traditional PC OEMs that are evolving their portfolios to include detachables will face pressure from the traditional smartphone OEMs, many of which have become accustomed to delivering extremely low-cost products.
Top Five Tablet Vendors, Shipments, Market Share, and Growth, Third Quarter 2015 (Preliminary Results, Shipments in millions)
Vendor |
3Q15 Unit Shipments |
3Q15 Market Share |
3Q14 Unit Shipments |
3Q14 Market Share |
Year-Over-Year Growth |
1. Apple |
9.9 |
20.3% |
12.3 |
22.1% |
-19.7% |
2. Samsung |
8.0 |
16.5% |
9.7 |
17.4% |
-17.1% |
3. Lenovo |
3.1 |
6.3% |
3.1 |
5.5% |
0.9% |
4. ASUS |
1.9 |
4.0% |
3.4 |
6.1% |
-43.4% |
5. Huawei |
1.8 |
3.7% |
0.7 |
1.3% |
147.9% |
Others |
23.9 |
49.1% |
26.4 |
47.5% |
-9.6% |
Total |
48.7 |
100.0% |
55.7 |
100.0% |
-12.6% |
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, October 29, 2015
According to IDC, Apple still holds the top position in the worldwide tablet market, although the days of deifying the iPad as the ultimate tablet may have come to an end. Apple's self-cannibalization and increasing competition from PC vendors with detachable tablets have both contributed to a decline in iPad shipments. However, the impending launch of the iPad Pro may serve as a silver lining as the market shifts towards productivity-enabling devices.
Samsung's marketing push has once again helped close the gap between itself and top rival Apple. Though the Galaxy-maker is one of the few remaining premium Android tablet vendors, the bulk of their shipments have focused on the low end. The market's shift towards detachables has also piqued Samsung's interest as the vendor continues to launch new devices like the Tab S2 with an optional keyboard to cater to this growing segment.
Lenovo finally felt the sting of a slowing market after numerous quarters of positive growth.
Asus' reputation for low-cost detachable devices helped drive volume over the past year. However, this quarter the vendor has struggled to maintain momentum in the detachable market as its refresh (earlier this year) of the Transformer lineup hasn't been as successful and, more importantly, other vendors have been able to offer similar devices at comparable price points. Asus has still been able to capture a spot in the top 5 largely due to its low-cost Android tablet portfolio.
Huawei has been successful in finding its niche - cellular-enabled tablets. With over two-thirds of its tablets being mobile connected, the vendor has been able to appeal to the growing trend of tablets used for voice calling and tablets used in markets with low broadband penetration.
