Global tablet market rebounds after a year; Apple retains leading position

The global tablet market rebounded in the third quarter of 2024 after a sluggish year, seeing a 20.4% increase in shipments. Apple maintained its position as the leading tablet manufacturer, albeit with a modest annual sales increase of 1.4%.

According to a new report by research firm IDC (International Data Corporation), the global tablet market recorded a significant 20.4% increase in shipments in the third quarter of 2024, compared to the same period last year. The primary driver behind this sharp increase was the tablet market’s weak performance in 2023, which marked the first year Apple did not release a new iPad since its debut in 2010.

Apple, remaining the top company in the tablet market, saw a slight annual increase of 1.4% in shipments, reaching 12.6 million units in Q3. However, Apple’s market share dropped by 6%, landing at 31.7%, compared to 37.7% in the same quarter last year.

Samsung also posted a successful quarter with an annual increase of 18.3% in tablet shipments. Nonetheless, Samsung’s global market share fell slightly from 18.2% to 17.9%. Amazon, ranking third, more than doubled its tablet shipments during the quarter with a remarkable 111.3% increase. As a result, Amazon’s global market share rose by 5% to 11.6%. According to the report, this growth was driven by demand for the budget-friendly Galaxy Tab A9 models.

Chinese tech company Huawei experienced an impressive 44.1% surge in tablet shipments in the third quarter, more than doubling the growth rate of the overall global tablet market. Huawei’s global market share rose from 6.9% to 8.2%.

Lenovo, rounding out the top five, saw a 14.7% increase in tablet shipments, though its global market share dipped slightly from 8% to 7.6%. Overall, IDC estimates that 39.6 million tablets were shipped worldwide during the third quarter, up from 32.9 million in the same period last year.