Tablet shipments to hit a new low in Q2 2018

In the first months of last year, global tablet shipments went through a serious drop, reaching an all-time low of 33 million units shipped in the entire first quarter. The first quarter is usually a weak one for most markets, but now it seems that the tablet market is heading for a new negative record that will be reached after taking into account the shipments for this year's second quarter.

According to DigiTimes Research, "Shipments are expected to fall further to a new low of 31.06 million units in the second quarter." The same source highlights that this drop came despite Apple's new iPads, mainly because the Cupertino-based giant has apparently failed to offer the price cuts anticipated by the market. Even more, the new iPads target the education sector, and home users have many other tempting choices with a price tag of around US$300.

Another interesting side of the market's evolution in the last years concerns tablet processors, an area where Samsung and Huawei increased the ratio of their own Exynos and Kirin chips, pushing down the sales of both MediaTek and Qualcomm.

Fortunately, the third and fourth quarters of 2018 should bring better days to the tablet makers. DigiTimes notes that "Apple's tablet shipments are expected to pick up significantly as it is slated to launch new iPad Pro devices for 2018 in the quarter," also mentioning that Amazon tablets should go up thanks to the Amazon Prime Day that is scheduled for July 10.