Tablet market falls 16 per cent, but business segment demand grows: Canalys

The woes of the worldwide tablet market continue with shipments dropping to their lowest level in Q2.

Tablets, Tablet market declines, Tablet shipments, PC shipments, Tablet market decline, Tablet Canalys, Canalys research, technology, technology news

Apple iPad shipments remain on top in the tablet market, according to Canalys data.

The woes of the worldwide tablet market continue with shipments dropping to their lowest level at 35 million in Q2 of 2016, with a 16 per cent drop, shows data from research firm Canalys. Apple is still the market leader and now has 28 per cent market share, with Samsung at second spot with over 6 million shipments and 16 per cent market share.

According to Canalys’ report, while tablet market is dropping, some demand from the business segment could give vendors a new opportunity to grow. However Canalys warns this won’t be spectacular growth as it was in previous quarters. “Microsoft’s Surface Pro and the iPad Pro have confirmed that there is a growing demand for detachable tablets in business,” said TuanAnh Nguyen, Research Analyst.

“We are not going to see B2B demand propel tablet shipments to the heights of previous quarters. But the ongoing transition to Windows 10 and the arrival of multitasking in Android Nougat should provide an opportunity for vendors to capitalise on selling tablets and their associated services to businesses,” he added.

In terms of individual vendors, Lenovo and Huawei were at third (7 per cent) and fourth (6 per cent) spot with both shipping over 2 million units. According to Canalys, Android shipments suffered the biggest fall, with a 23 per cent drop globally. The research firm says volumes were impacted by significant declines in many Asia Pacific and Latin American markets.

“Competition from smartphones and, more recently, convertible two-in-one PCs has resulted in the weakness we currently see in the consumer segment, particularly cheap slate tablets running Android,” said Wilmer Ang, Canalys Research Analyst. “Top-tier brands Dell, HP and Sony have all but given up in this space, while the likes of Huawei, Lenovo and Samsung try to leverage their brands and premium designs to hold on to higher price points.”

In India, too the tablet market is declining, although the Datawind, which offers budget tablets at sub $100 pricing remains the market leader, highlighting the importance of pricing when it comes to this segment.