Worldwide Tablet Shipments Decline in Q2, 2015

Market research firm IDC has published its ‘Quarterly Tablet Tracker’ report for Q2, 2015, which shows that the global market for tablet computers has dropped by 7% over the same period last year. While Q2, 2014 saw shipments of 48 million tablets, this year the number is down to only 44.7 million units. The largest vendors, Apple and Samsung, have both lost the leading roles when face with more competitive rivals, according to IDC. The report says that Chinese electronics and telecommunication equipment major Huawei has, for the first time, entered the list of the top tablet manufacturers in the world at number five.

Though Apple maintained its preeminent position with 24.5 percent of the tablet market, the company’s market share actually fell down by 3.2 percent when compared with Q2 of last year. Samsung stayed its second spot, but also suffered decrease, of which market share depleted from 18 percent in the second quarter of last year, to 17 percent this year. Lenovo has managed to stay put at number three, even though it too, has seen a nominal loss of market share, with around 100,000 less devices shipped during the recently concluded quarter.

The beneficiaries of the poor figures of the leading cellphone vendor, however, were companies like Huawei Technologies, LG Electronics and little known E FUN, all of whom achieved increasing sales and market share during the quarter. While Huawei and LG each shipped 1.6 million units, Huawei was able to corner 3.7 percent of the market during the quarter, having grown 103 percent YoY during the period, up from 1.7 percent in the second quarter of last year. LG performed better, growing 246 percent and grabbing 3.6 percent of the global tablet market, up from barely 1 percent in Q2, 2014.