In the second quarter of 2024, global tablet shipments grew by 22.1% year-on-year, reaching 34.4 million units, according to analyst firm IDC. This growth was driven by the release of new tablet models, which coincided with the cycle of consumer upgrades of their devices. However, shipment volumes are now comparable to pre-pandemic levels, rather than the unprecedented sales seen during the pandemic itself. The results of Q2 2024 were similar to Q2 2019, when 32.5 million devices were shipped, driven by Apple's refreshed lineup and the growing popularity of tablets from Samsung and Huawei.
"The results of Q2 2024 show that the market has moved beyond the pandemic era. We expect the cycle of renewal and growth in emerging markets to continue to support the recovery in the near term. While new players are focusing on global expansion, long-term leaders are improving technology (e.g., OLED displays for the iPad Pro), meeting the demand for premium devices, and embracing new technologies such as artificial intelligence," said Anuropa Nataraj, senior research analyst, Mobile and Consumer Device Tracking, IDC. "The long-term growth of the market will depend on the ability of vendors to create innovative and differentiated devices that will create a separate niche for tablets."
In Q2 2024, Apple continued to lead the market with 12.3 million tablets shipped, up 18.2% quarter-on-quarter. Apple's market growth was driven by the launch of 11- and 13-inch iPad Air and iPad Pro models. iPad shipments grew globally, except in China, where local competitors such as Huawei and Xiaomi affected Apple's performance.
Samsung took the second place with shipments of 6.9 million devices in Q2 2024, up 18.6% quarter-on-quarter. Despite the lack of major new product launches, Samsung's growth was driven by several corporate sales and a favorable comparison with Q2 2023.
Lenovo took third place with 16.7% year-on-year growth, shipping 2.5 million devices. Lenovo tablets with detachable keyboards showed strong year-over-year growth of 39.7%, compared to 11.7% growth for regular tablets.
Huawei took the fourth position with a significant increase of 40.3% year-on-year and shipments of 2.3 million units. The launch of the MatePad 11.5S and a successful online promotion in China in June contributed to the company's performance.
Xiaomi ranked fifth, with shipments up 94.7% year-on-year to 2 million devices. In addition to China and the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan), Xiaomi has made significant progress in the European market, particularly in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and other countries.