Despite the popularity of big-screen phones (phablets), worldwide tablet shipments grew by 11% year-on-year in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024.
This is according to the latest Canalys data, which shows 37.4 million units were shipped during this period.
Canalys notes this marks the third consecutive quarter of growth for the tablet market, driven by resurgence in demand across both the consumer and commercial sectors.
Further, back-to-school seasonal demand, channel inventory build-up and an uptick in business IT spending all contributed to healthy performance for the tablet industry, it states.
“Bundling offers and aggressive promotions across various markets have helped drive tablet shipments in a challenging spending environment,” explains Canalys research manager Himani Mukka.
“The third quarter of this year witnessed a build-up of inventory in the retail channel in anticipation of the holiday season, in which discounting began early. Whether for Black Friday or Cyber Monday in Western markets, or the Singles’ Day shopping festival in China, vendors have been gearing up for the shopping spree with new product launches aimed at enticing users to upgrade older tablets.
“Even in markets where factors like inflation have weakened consumer demand, business demand has picked up, leading to device refreshes, as well as new deployments of tablets in commercial scenarios.
“Industry verticals like education, healthcare and retail are notable examples of renewed investments in tablets to drive digital transformation efforts. While the overall market growth has remained modest, recent performance indicates a healthy outlook for the role of tablets across different end-user segments.”
According to the research firm, the overall tablet market growth in Q3 follows a significant 18% growth in the previous quarter.
Apple maintained its lead position in the tablet market, with 36% market share and 13.6 million tablets shipped in Q3 2024, enhancing its market competitiveness with the launch of the latest iPad mini.
Samsung secured the second spot, shipping 6.9 million units and achieving a 12% year-on-year growth.
Chinese tech giants Lenovo, Xiaomi and Huawei rounded out the top five. Lenovo experienced 14% growth, while Xiaomi emerged as the fastest-growing vendor with a 58% increase. Huawei shipped 2.9 million units, achieving 29% growth.
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