As usual, IDC published the latest reports on global tablet shipments and global supply of smartphones in the third quarter. According to data we received from a market research company, tablet sales reached 42,3 million units, down 9,4% from a year earlier. However, Apple supplies iPad are still growing in a shrinking market.
Global Tablet Market
Apple iPad shipments were 14,7 million units in the third quarter, up 14 million units from the third quarter of 2020. This is a 4,6% increase over the same period last year, bringing Apple's share of the tablet market to 34,6%.
Apple is leading the tablet market with a big lead; The second place is occupied by Samsung with a market share of 17,7%; Amazon ranked third with a market share of 11,1%. By the way, shipments of Samsung and Amazon tablets fell 11,1% and 13,3% year on year, respectively.
“Many schools and governments squandered their budgets to provide distance learning devices, and even consumers aggressively bought learning devices in 2020. As a result, some saturation of the education market is expected in the near future, ”said Anuroopa Nataraj, senior analyst at IDC, Mobility and Consumer Tracking. "It has some direct impact on Chromebooks and even tablets." This is especially noticeable in developed markets such as the USA and Western Europe. However, Chromebooks continue to expand their presence in emerging markets such as Asia Pacific (excluding Japan and China), Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, but sales in these regions account for less than 13% of total Chromebook sales and hence, they are far from promoting the global market. "
Apple appears to be relatively unaffected by the slump in tablet sales. But IDC noted that the weakening of the global ban on the novel coronavirus has led to increased spending in other categories. The latter appears to be dampening demand for tablets and Chromebooks.
However, Apple expects that iPad shipments will not increase in the fourth quarter due to continued supply chain restrictions.
Worldwide supply of smartphones
In the third quarter of 2021, global smartphone shipments totaled 330 million units, down 6,7% from a year earlier.
In the third quarter of 2021, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Asia-Pacific (excluding China and Japan) saw the largest declines, at -23,2% and -11,6%, respectively. Regions such as the United States, Western Europe, and China have seen much smaller declines. They are -0,2%, -4,6% and -4,4%, respectively. This is due to the fact that leading manufacturers give higher priority to these regions.
In terms of manufacturer share, Samsung tops the list with 69 million units shipped and 20,8% market share. Apple again came in second with 50,4 million units shipped and 15,2% market share. The Cupertino-based company achieved significant growth of 20,8% over the same period last year. Xiaomi ranks third with a market share of 13,4% and shipments of 44,3 million devices. The decrease compared to the same period last year amounted to 4,6%. VIVO and OPPO tied for fourth place with shipments of 33,3 million units and 33,2 million units, respectively. Their market shares are 10,1% and 10,0%. Vivo shipments increased 5,8% year on year, while OPPO shipments for the quarter were up 8,6% year over year.
