The global demand for tablets is far from where it was just a few years ago. Although all IT devices – including PCs, tablets, and mobile phones – have been hit hard by a massive $200-billion consumer spending drop in the past three years, tablets are still trailing behind recovery – and the H1 2024 shipment figures confirm that.
According to the latest research from AltIndex.com, global tablet shipments increased by a modest 3% YoY and hit 65,2-million in the first half of the year.
The tablet industry faces another challenging year following headwinds and setbacks seen throughout 2020 and 2023. After the Covid-19-driven surge in sales, the global demand for these devices has slumped hitting even the biggest players like Apple, Samsung, and Amazon.
With tablet sales falling worldwide, the industry revenue slumped by almost $5-billion in just two years – dropping from nearly $60-billion in 2021 to $55-billion last year. And while many market players hoped that 2024 would bring a much-needed recovery, global tablet demand remains flat.
According to IDC data, between January and June 2024, tablet makers shipped 65,2-million of these devices – or two million more than in the same period last year. Despite the modest 3% YoY growth, tablet shipments remained 20% below the levels seen at the market peak in 2021 and similar to those in H1 2018 and H1 2019.
Although other tablet makers have been steadily increasing their shipments, Apple still has the lion`s share in global tablet sales. According to IDC, the tech giant shipped 22,2-million iPads in H1 2024 – or 900 000 more than in the same period last year – maintaining its position as the market leader.
Its biggest rival and the second-largest player in the tablets segment, Samsung, saw its shipments increase by 700 000 YoY and totaling 13,6-million in the first half of the year. Lenovo and Xiaomi follow with 4,6-million and 3,8-million respectively. Statistics also show Huawei is the only tablet vendor whose shipments dropped – falling by a massive 2,7-million YoY to 5,2-million.
And while a modest 3% shipment growth sounds encouraging after the sales slump in 2022 and 2023, the market projections for the entire year remain pessimistic. According to Statista Market Insights, global tablet sales revenue will drop by a further 2,3% to $53,7-billion this year following 4% and 4,2% declines in 2022 and 2023. The forecasted sales volume will also remain deep below the market peak with an expected 175,8-million sold units in 2024 – or 12-million less than in 2021.
Moreover, according to Statista, it will take another four years for global tablet sales to reach 2021 levels when they were close to $60-billion, indicating the path to recovery is much longer than expected.