According to the latest figures published by International Data Corporation (IDC), the tablet market in Western Europe decreased 5% YoY this quarter.
In total, 7,8-million devices were shipped in the region, which shows a slight weakening of the overall market.
Nevertheless, the value of the sales in euros was better and the market remained fairly flat, with a slight decline of 0,1%.
The commercial segment remained positive at 3.4%, with slate tablets growing for the first time this year (4%) driven mainly by Android-based devices.
On the other hand, the consumer segment continued to erode by 7.1%. Although holiday season promotions helped to increase volume quarter on quarter, it wasn’t enough to make the segment grow.
Detachables are slowing down, with a decrease of 8,5% YoY, particularly in the consumer segment, where it declined 14,3%.
The rapid adoption of convertibles is one of the main reasons for contractions. However, the commercial segment was up at 2,2%, and in France and Germany there was significant growth of 12,9% and 17,5%, respectively, driven mostly by large and very large businesses.
The trend for the slate market is the same as the trend for detachables, but it performed better in comparison, with a contraction of 5,6% in the consumer segment and an increase in the commercial side.
“Despite a negative quarter for tablets, the market is consolidating and the top 5 companies account for almost 70% of the total market in units, compared with less than 60% in the same quarter a year ago,” says Laura Llames, research analyst at IDC Western European Personal Computing Devices.
“The aggressive competition in the market is having a negative impact on local companies, as most of the major OEMs are offering a product mix that includes not only premium devices but also more affordable devices.”
The increasingly long-life cycles are making tablet renewal a lower priority for end users. Therefore, Android-based tablets decreased slightly further than in the previous quarter (-4%).
However, the decline was softened due to the good performance of the main vendors (for example, Samsung). iOS-based devices dropped this quarter (-2%) despite the new models and the attractively priced iPad.
However, private enterprises in the main countries such as Germany and France boosted shipments, increasing 52,8% and 20% respectively. Windows-based devices declined for the third consecutive quarter due to the adoption of convertibles in terms of commercial mobility.
Samsung ranked first with 23,2% market share and growth of 7,6% thanks to the wide range of products on offer. The Galaxy Tab A was still the most popular device and helped to increase volume.
Apple ranked second, recording a market share of 22,6% but decreasing 2% YoY. The iPad introduction last quarter facilitated long-awaited renewals, representing more than 60% of its total market share.
Lenovo gained 0,5% market share YoY to reach 9,4%, with solid growth of 17,8% YoY. This was driven mainly by the strong performance of the Android-based slate tablets, especially in the SMB segment and in large businesses.
Amazon.com was in fourth place, due to its portfolio of low-cost slate tablets and an explosion of shipments on Prime Day. It posted significant growth of 69% YoY with a market share of 8,8%.
Huawei continued to grow, with market share of 4,4% and 40,7% growth YoY, by focusing on its mobile broadband enabled devices.
