The worldwide tablet market remain depressed in the third quarter, with shipments down 14.7 percent year-on-year to 43 million units, according to the latest estimates from IDC. Compared to Q2, shipments rose 9.8 percent as vendors prepared for the holiday quarter.
IDC said the market is increasingly dominated by low-cost (sub-USD 200) detachables from manufacturers like RCA, which also "deliver a low-cost experience". This could prove damaging for the market in the long term, as detachables could be seen as disposable devices rather than potential PC replacements, the market researcher warned. It found the market is widening, between slate companion devices sold at the low end to serve a broader platform strategy, like Amazon's Fire fablets, and more expensive productivity tools closer to the notebook experience, like Microsoft's Surface.
Apple remained the top vendor in Q3, despite a 6.2 percent annual fall in its shipments. Its market share rose to 21.5 percent from 19.6 percent a year ago. Samsung came second, with a share of 15.1 percent as its shipment fell an estimated 19.3 percent annually. Amazon's Prime Day sale, offering a 30 percent discount on the Fire led to a surge in its sales to 3.1 million units, and its market share jumped to 7.3 percent from 1.5 percent a year ago. Lenovo came fourth in the market with shipments of 2.7 million and a market share of 6.3 percent, and Huawei ranked fifth with 2.4 million tablets shipped and a share of 5.6 percent.
