Tablet market shrinks for tenth quarter in a row

Worldwide tablet sales as of Q1 2017 have fallen significantly by 8.5 percent for a total of 36.2 million units compared to Q1 2016. Market shares between the largest manufacturers have also been shifting slightly according to analytical data from IDC.

Sales of laptop convertibles and detachables increased at the cost of traditional slate tablets which peaked in sales way back in 2014. Apple remains the leader in the tablet space with 24.6 percent of the overall pie, but this is down from 25.9 percent a year earlier. IDC is predicting that the growing Windows detachable market will put pressure on Apple and its more limited iPad Pro series.

Both Samsung and Huawei have grown slightly in market share to 16.5 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively. Huawei in particular experienced the largest year-over-year growth at just over 31 percent, though it remains to be seen if the Chinese manufacturer can maintain its momentum moving forward as the company is reportedly focusing more on Windows devices instead of pure Android tablets.

The same source is predicting sales of detachables to grow even further at the expense of convertible notebooks with 360-degree hinges.

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