Total tablet shipments for 2015 were down 10.1 per cent year-on-year, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), however detachable tablets are growing in popularity.In total, shipments for 2015 were 206.8 million units, according to the IDC, while in the fourth quarter shipments of 65.9 million units were down 13.7 per cent.
While pure slate tablets experienced their greatest annual decline to date of 21.1 per cent, detachable tablets more than doubled their shipments since the fourth quarter of last year.
“This quarter was unique as we had new detachables in the market from all three of the major platform players,” Jitesh Ubrani, IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers senior research analyst, commented.
“Despite lukewarm reviews, the iPad Pro was the clear winner this season, as it was the top selling detachable, surpassing notable entries from Microsoft and other PC vendors.
“It’s also important to note that the transition towards detachable tablets has presented positive opportunities for both Apple and Microsoft. However, Google’s recent foray into this space has been rather lackluster, as the Android platform will require a lot more refinement to achieve any measurable success.”
Jean Philippe Bouchard, IDC research director, tablets, noted that “one of the biggest reasons” for the fast growth of detachables “is because end users are seeing those devices as PC replacements”.
“We believe Apple sold just over two million iPad Pros, while Microsoft sold around 1.6 million Surface devices, a majority of which were Surface Pro and not the more affordable Surface 3,” Bouchard commented.
“With these results, it’s clear that price is not the most important feature considered when acquiring a detachable – performance is.”
Apple ended the year as the top vendor, shipping 49.6 million units, down 21.8 per cent year-on-year, and capturing 24 per cent of the market, with Samsung in the number two spot, shipping 33.4 million units, down 16.1 per cent, and claiming a 16.2 per cent market share.
Lenovo came in in third position, shipping 11.2 million units, up 0.4 per cent year-on-year, capturing a 5.4 per cent market share, followed by Asus, shipping 7.1 million units, down 39.9 per cent, claiming a 3.4 per cent market share, and Huawei, shipping 6.5 million units, up 116.6 per cent, capturing a 3.1 per cent market share.
In the fourth quarter, Apple shipped 16.1 million units, down 24.8 per cent year-on-year, claiming a 24.5 per cent market share, with Samsung in second position, shipping 9 million units, down 18.1 per cent, capturing a 13.7 per cent market share.
In third position, Amazon shipped 5.2 million units, up 175.7 per cent year-on-year, claiming a 7.9 per cent market share, followed by Lenovo, shipping 3.2 million units, down 13.5 per cent, capturing a 4.8 per cent market share, and Huawei, shipping 2.2 million units, up 124.6 per cent, and capturing a 3.4 per cent market share.
