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Tablets rebound worldwide
Pandemic-related demands of remote learning and work-from-home, along with new devices from Microsoft, Amazon and Apple, has revived the tablet segment
Consumer and commercial customers went on a tablet buying spree worldwide to support work/learn-from-home initiatives during the second quarter of 2020, resulting in a 17% year-on-year increase in tablet shipments. According to Strategy Analytics’ latest report. Preliminary Global Tablet Shipments and Market Share: Q2 2020, the supply chain almost fully recovered by April/May, despite intense economic hardship related to COVID-19 quarantine orders.
The report indicates that back-to-school demand in the United States could further boost the tablet market in the next quarter. As a result, long-term tablet sales could see an extended resurgence due to lower price points if remote work and school options remain post-pandemic.
“As COVID-19 is still uncontained in some of the largest markets in the world and research shows certain workers and companies are getting used to remote work, it’s safe to say this won’t be a temporary change in demand,” says Eric Smith, Strategy Analytics director for connected computing. “Tablets have evolved from the simple entertainment slate of the boom years into devices more capable of handling work and school tasks, which has broadened the choices consumers and commercial clients face when upgrading or buying new devices for the new normal.”
Senior research analyst Chirag Upadhyay said: “New products played an important part in this quarter’s tablet success as well. Apple’s newest iPad Pro models sold very well as consumers needed devices with keyboards to get work done at home.
“Microsoft’s fresh Surface Pro, Surface Book, and Surface Go devices gave it an advantage over competitors in the Windows Detachable segment, which have been more focused on updating their notebooks during the commercial refresh. Amazon released the next generation of Fire HD 8 tablets in the middle of the quarter to great success, taking advantage of a captive audience in online retail while brick-and-mortar retail traffic ground to a halt.”
* The full report from Strategy Analytics’ Connected Computing Devices (CCD) service can be viewed here: https://www.strategyanalytics.com/access-services/devices/tablets-and-pcs/connected-computing-devices/market-data/report-detail/preliminary-global-tablet-shipments-and-market-share-q2-2020-results-030820
