Sparse vendor offerings drive down tablet shipments

Vendor landscape is evolving as Apple and Samsung see shipments drop in Q2, IDC claims

IDC has reported that the global tablet market continues to decline, falling by seven per cent year on year and 3.9 per cent compared with Q1 2015.

The research indicates that the market's drop in shipments – which fell to 44.7 million devices shipped from 48 million the year before – is being driven by a lack of hardware development and minimal device offerings from vendors.

Although Apple and Samsung remain at the top of the market, with Apple claiming 24.5 per cent and Samsung holding 17 per cent, the duo's sales fell by 17.9 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.

It also found that success from companies such as Huawei – whose sales grew 103.6 per cent, placing it in the top five for the first time – and LG, which enjoyed 246.5 per cent growth, has weakened the top two's grasp.

Philippe Bouchard, research director for tablets at IDC, said: "In the first quarter of the year, Apple and Samsung accounted for 45 per cent of the market. With the growth of vendors such as LG, Huawei and E FUN, their combined share dropped to 41 per cent."

Bouchard pointed out that along with Huawei making its debut in the top five vendors, E FUN joined the top 10, indicating an evolution in the vendor landscape.

Apple has retained the top spot in the market according to IDC, shipping 10.9 million devices in the second quarter.

Samsung shipped 7.6 million devices, placing it in second ahead of Lenovo, which shifted 2.5 million devices and saw a market share increase of 6.8 per cent.

Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst at Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, commented: "Longer life cycles, and increased competition from other categories such as larger smartphones, combined with the fact that end users can install the latest operating systems on their older tablets, has stifled the initial enthusiasm for these devices in the consumer market."

Ubrani added that there was hope for the market: "With newer form factors such two-in-ones, and added productivity-enabling features like those highlighted in iOS 9, vendors should be able to bring new vitality to a market that has lost its momentum," he said.