The first quarter was another downer for tablet shipments: totals dropped more than 34 percent sequentially, and continued their downward slide year over year by more than 9 percent, new TrendForce data shows. All told, tablet shipments in the quarter came to just 31.95 million units.
Apple managed to hold on to the top tablet slot during the quarter with nearly 28 percent market share and 8.9 million units shipped. But the latter total was down nearly 32 percent sequentially and around 13 percent year over year, the firm noted.
Samsung was steady in second place with 6.1 million units shipped, though it too saw a massive sequential drop of 23.5 percent and a nearly 6 percent dip year over year. The company held 19 percent of the market share.
Huawei and Lenovo were essentially tied in third with 2.1 million units shipped each, though Huawei managed to edge out Lenovo’s 6.4 percent market share by 0.2 percent. Amazon was hot on their heels with 2 million units shipped and 6.3 percent of the market share. Sequential shipments for all three companies were down between 31 and 43 percent.
The findings were seconded by Strategy Analytics data, which showed a 10 percent slide in global shipments year over year. Strategy Analytics indicated Apple held the lead with 8.9 million shipments in the first quarter, marking a year over year decline of 13 percent, while Samsung was in the second seat with 6 million shipments. Huawei was also in third according to Strategy Analytics data with 2.8 million shipments, but by the firm’s count Amazon and Lenovo swapped places for fourth and fifth. Amazon came in with 2.4 million units shipped in the first quarter while Lenovo had 2.1 million, Strategy Analytics indicated.
According to TrendForce, the second quarter could be brighter for tablets thanks to new devices from both Apple and Samsung. In particular, TrendForce analysts indicated uptake of Apple’s new budget-friendly iPad could give Apple’s tablet shipments a significant boost in the second quarter to the tune of some 15 percent.
“After experiencing a significant retreat in shipments for the first quarter, the tablet market is now focusing on the sales performance of the economically priced 9.7-inch iPad that was released towards the end of this March,” TrendForce Notebook Analyst Anita Wang commented. “At $329, this model is the lowest priced iPad device that Apple has ever offered. The product is expected to generate sales in this second quarter as its shipments pick up.”