The once booming tablet segment seems to have hit a rough patch, what with shipments declining 25 percent in Q4 2021, market research firm Strategy Analytics revealed. Supply constraint is being considered the prime culprit though the research firm also pointed out that the constraint that has been capping demand towards end-2021 is showing signs of easing already. That said, it still could be too early to predict if the segment will continue to have the same robust demand as it was earlier in 2021 as buyers might have settled with other devices after not getting enough of the tablet devices of their choice.
Another trend witnessed in the segment is the gradual shift of the manufacturers towards producing more productivity-oriented devices. Microsoft that has been a strong player in the segment overhauled its entire portfolio of Surface devices, something that also led to a strong resurge in demand for the popular convertible tablets. No wonder, it made it among the top five for the first time ever, shipping 1.9 million Surface devices during the quarter which makes for a 4 percent share of the market. Microsoft occupied the fifth spot overall and registered negative growth of 1 percent, the least among all other manufacturers.
Apple reported a huge 21 percent negative growth even though it topped the segment with 14.6 million iPad devices shipped during the quarter. This translates to a commanding 31 percent market share, which is almost twice that of Samsung, it’s nearest competitor that shipped 7.3 million tablets for a 16 percent share of the market. The South Korean giant however suffered the maximum 28 percent decline in sales.
Amazon though reported a robust sale of 5.8 million tablet devices which the research firm attributed to the deep discounts that the retail giant offered during the holiday quarter. That said, Amazon too suffered a 13 percent slump in growth though its market share improved 1.7 percentage points to 12 percent.
Lenovo came in at the fourth spot with 4.6 million tablet shipments which is 17 percent less compared to the same period last year but managed to secure a 10 percent share of the market, which is 1 percentage point more than what it was during the preceding quarter. Also, this is the first time in nine straight quarters that Lenovo suffered negative growth.
Interestingly, tablet shipments still totaled an impressive 183.1 million for the entire 2021, which is just 3 percent less than what it was during the preceding year. This itself can be an indication of how strong the segment performed but was held back by a lack of components. Demand was particularly high during the holiday quarter as companies struggled to live up to the demand, something that also impacted their revenue stream immensely. The full Strategy Analytics report is available here.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.