EMEA tablet market plunges 12%, says IDC

Apple strengthens its position in the market while competitors take a hit, says IDC

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The tablet market saw an 11.7% year-on-year decline in the EMEA region in Q2, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). A lack of innovative features and the increasing range of devices is eroding consumer demand for slate tablets, it said.

However, detachables put out a strong performance in Q2, seeing an 11.8% increase after two consecutive years of quarterly declines.

“The expectation of a detachable rebound in the market was finally realised in Q2 and on a bigger scale than anticipated,” said Daniel Goncalves, senior research analyst, Western European personal computing devices, IDC.

“This was mainly driven by shipment pull-in of the freshly released iPad Air, a budget alternative to the iPad Pro and a contender to the Surface Go in the midrange tablet market with keyboard capabilities that have the potential to become a back-to-school winner.”

Overall, the tablet market in Western Europe declined 6.6% in Q2 of 2019. While in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMA), it declined 18.7% year-on-year.

“As content consumption tasks performed by consumers have moved to bigger screen size smartphones, 7 and 8-inch tablets become less relevant,” said Nikolina Jurisic, product manager, IDC CEMA.

Vendor Highlights

Apple was market leader in EMEA, thanks to a buoyant detachable quarter and the resurrection of the iPad mini. Samsung saw a decline but continued to push its higher-end Android tablets across the region, highlighting its greater focus on profitability. Huawei contracted as the ban in the US intensified in Q2, and negatively impacted its consumer confidence in Western Europe. However, it gained leadership in the CEMA region. Lenovo, continuing to shift its focus from tablets, took another sharp decrease. Amazon updated its affordable Fire tablet range ahead of Prime Day, boosting its shipments in Q2.

Top 5 Companies: EMEA
2019 Q2 (Finals) (000 Units)

Source: IDC EMEA Personal Computing Device Quarterly Tracker (Tablet), 2019 Q2

The EMEA tablet market is forecast to decline by 7.4% in the third quarter of the year, and by 9.9% for overall 2019, maintaining the trend seen in recent years. Detachables and the commercial segment are expected to partially offset that decline.

“The second half of 2019 will remain inhibited as slates continue to decline across regions,” said Jurisic. “In comparison, detachables are expected to perform slightly better. The economic revival, stronger consumer and commercial confidence, and new and attractively priced products are expected to positively influence the market.”

The adoption of tablets in the commercial segment is expected to grow from 2020, driven primarily by detachables. Slates are expected to remain relatively stable. “In 2019, we expect to see a return to growth for detachables in enterprise and a jump from 2020 with double-digit growth,” said Goncalves.

“The good performance in Q2 might just be the beginning, as the workforce becomes increasingly mobile and the increase in the Windows 10 installed base contributes to the expansion of ultraportable systems.”

Tablets are expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7% from 2019 to 2023.

Source: IDC EMEA Personal Computing Device Quarterly Tracker (Tablet), 2019 Q2

* Note: Tablets are portable, battery-powered computing devices inclusive of both slate and detachable form factors. Tablets may use LCD or OLED displays (e-paper based e-readers are not included here). Tablets are both slate and detachable keyboard form factor devices with colour displays equal to or larger than 7-inch and smaller than 16-inch.

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