Beancounters at IDC have noted that tablet market shipments in EMEA have declined year-on-year for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Shipments reached 11.8 million units in EMEA during the second quarter of 2021, representing a 1.7 percent year-on-year decline which the IDC puts down to “a slowdown in consumer demand”.
But volumes still remain significantly above the pre-pandemic period, up 22.4 percent compared with 2019, which the IDC claims indicate an increase in the total addressable market
IDC Associate research director, Nikolina Jurisic said that market performance was affected by the unfavourable YoY comparison, as 2Q20 witnessed an avalanche of shipments to address home learning and entertainment.
“Slate tablets lost popularity as social restrictions eased, whereas detachable tablets continued on a strong positive trajectory, gaining from the notebook-like experience, new product launches, and versatility that supports hybrid working and learning.”
Samsung remains the market leader in EMEA, fuelled by the strong position it holds in emerging markets, while Apple retained the second position.
Lenovo posted a considerable market share growth and TCL made its first appearance in the top five ranking by coming in at fourth overall.
The IDC expects the EMEA tablet market to continue its year-on-year decline for the rest of 2021, predicting a 10.9 percent year-on-year drop for the second half of the year at 24.3 million devices shipped.
The decline will be seen as demand starts showing “signs of exhaustion as lockdowns are lifted”, according to the IDC, which adds that education deals are “not expected to generate similar volumes for the rest of the year as in the last 12 months”.
For the whole of 2021, the tablet market in EMEA is expected to decline 1.1 percent year-on-year.
