The long-awaited recovery of the tablet market has happened and it will likely continue with upcoming AI features.
The dry spell of the tablet market seems over as it bounced back in the second quarter. Leading the resurgence is Apple with an astounding 12.3 million shipped units. That translates to 18.2% year-over-year growth.
While Apple’s YOY growth takes almost the whole 22.1% growth of the market in Q2 2024, other brands like Samsung, Lenovo, HUAWEI, and Xiaomi, among others, also helped revitalize a dying tech breed. But the one with the largest YOY growth is Xiaomi with 94.7%.
So, if you’ve purchased a tablet recently, know that you’re helping prevent the extinction of digital tablets. Anyway, here’s the preliminary findings:
| Brand | Q2 2024 Shipments | Q2 2024 Market Share | Q2 2023 Shipments | Q2 2023 Market Share | YOY Growth |
| Apple | 12.3 million | 35.8% | 10.4 million | 37% | 18.2% |
| Samsung | 6.9 million | 20.1% | 5.8 million | 20.6% | 18.6% |
| Lenovo | 2.5 million | 7.3% | 2.1 million | 7.6% | 16.7% |
| HUAWEI | 2.3 million | 6.8% | 1.7 million | 5.9% | 40.3% |
| Xiaomi | 2 million | 5.8% | 1 million | 3.7% | 94.7% |
| Others | 8.4 million | 24.3% | 7.1 million | 25.2% | 17.6% |
| Total | 34.4 million | 100% | 28.2 million | 100% | 22.1% |
The 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air and iPad Pro models swoop the competition for Apple, where its demand bloomed across the globe except China. Samsung, meanwhile, had no major launches but its grip in many markets guaranteed shipments.
Lenovo’s detachable tablets significantly boosted the brand’s growth, compared to its slated tablets. HUAWEI and its new MatePad 11.5S performed well, while Xiaomi gained positive reception in France, Germany, Russia, and more European countries.
Anuroopa Nataraj, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, said that long-term gains will depend on how these vendors make their new offering unique through innovation and differentiation.
What do you think?