High-end devices rescue declining tablet shipments

Tablet shipments in western Europe decline, but market value grows as detachables gain traction

Tablet shipments in western Europe dropped in Q3 this year but the value of the market was increased by sales in premium products, according to IDC.

IDC figures show that tablet shipments fell 6.7 per cent year on year to 8.2 million, but that detachable laptops and tablets continue to gain traction in the commercial sector.

The overall value of the market grew 4.8 per cent year on year to €2.5bn, despite the shipments decline.

"The increasing penetration of detachables, particularly in the commercial space, is sustaining tablet market value despite the contraction in volume," said Daniel Goncalves, research analyst for western Europe computing at IDC.

"The offer available in the market continues to grow, along with enterprises' increasing interest in technologies that fit their mobile strategies.

"As a result, detachables - particularly those with the performance and security to meet enterprise standards - are continuously gaining traction and this is boosting demand for premium devices."

Detatchables saw 48.4 per cent year-on-year shipment growth in Q3, with the market share of devices priced over €600 almost doubling in the same period, to 52.2 per cent.

IDC claimed that Apple's iPad Pro and Microsoft's Surface Pro can be largely credited with driving up detachable market share, which now stands 21.9 per cent of the whole tablet market, with the two devices holding nearly half of this share.

"Surface Pro and iPad Pro success comes from them being a notebook replacement, as well as the quality of the devices," said Goncalves.

"The devices are increasingly adopted across consumer and commercial segments, and while in the consumer segment both appeal to the 'prosumer' user, in commercial the adoption varies depending on the activities of the end user.

"iPad Pro is more popular for creative types of jobs, whereas Surface is more likely to be adopted by top executives, partly due to Windows' strong legacy in enterprise."

Despite growth in the detachables shipments IDC blamed the overall tablet decline on falling slate shipments that saw a 15.5 per cent year-on-year drop in Q3, which the market watcher attributed to market saturation.

Apple maintained its place as leading vendor, with a 21.9 per cent share of unit shipments, closely followed by Samsung which held 20.4 per cent.