Tablet demand to hit a new low in Q1 2018

Posted on Monday, February 05 2018 @ 10:22 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Every couple of years or so, there's a hot new product category that takes off like wildfire before crashing down again. The almost forgotten netbooks come to mind, and now demand for tablets continues to spiral downwards. DigiTimes Research reports global tablet shipments came in at around 46 million units in Q4 2017, which was better than expected, but the firm predicts the volume will drop to a new low in Q1 2018.
For the brand tablet segment, despite the inexpensive Apple iPad's efforts to buck the trend of the first-quarter 2018 low season, shipments from non-Apple first-tier brand vendors will still be limited without the support of new tablet devices for the quarter.

As a result, worldwide tablet output will fall 30% sequentially and 17.1% on year to stand at around 32 million units, a new historical low.
And while the number of tabet vendors is legion, an increasing proportion of the market is gravitating towards a small number of first-tier players. Apple, Samsung and a couple of others account for over 70 percent of the market:
In the fourth quarter of 2017, tablet shipments to first-tier brand vendors accounted for over 70% of the overall worldwide volume, growing more than 10% sequentially, meeting Digitimes Research's forecast thanks to the vendors' aggressive promotions.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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