The second quarter of 2021 was another strong quarter for Apple’s iPad and derivative tablets with the category recording growth despite a challenging year-over-year comparison. According to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, the tablet segment grew 4.2% year-over-year with shipments totaling 40.5 million units.
Despite the positive results during the quarter, tablets are experiencing some slowdown from the boom in the preceding quarters. There is concern that consumer demand around tablets will slow much faster than the broader PC market.
“Opportunities in the education market are still ample for both tablets and Chromebooks. Online learning has gained rapid traction and has pushed forward the digital revolution in the learning space,” said Anuroopa Nataraj, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, in a statement. “While there isn’t a single solution globally, many emerging markets continue to ramp up use of Android tablets while schools in some developed markets like the USA and Canada lean more toward Chromebooks. That said, there has also been a recent uprising of Chromebooks in areas of Europe, as well as a few Asian countries as schools start opening up to platform change.”
Top Five Tablet Companies, Worldwide Shipments, Market Share, and Year-Over-Year Growth, Q2 2021
(Preliminary results, combined company view for the current quarter only, shipments in millions)
Table Notes:
* Since Huawei sold its Honor business, data for Huawei in the top line excludes Honor volume for both 2Q21 and 2Q20.
** For year-on-year comparison, an extra line has been added below the table to show what Huawei’s growth would have looked like including Honor volume in 2Q20.
MacDailyNews Take: There is no adequate substitute for a real iPad.
