After two years of decline, the tablet market appears to be gradually stabilizing. IDC sees slight growth in the first quarter of 2024, with Apple being the largest player.

Tablet sales have been declining for two years, but IDC sees growth returning in the first quarter of 2024. The change is important, but small. According to IDC, the market grew by half a percent in the last quarter compared to the same period last year. IDC sees the renewal of older devices as a driver of the modest growth, but admits that volumes like those seen during the pandemic are probably no longer on the horizon.

Apple is the biggest player, but not the winner in history. The company recorded a decline in its own output of 8.5 percent, but still has a market share of 32 percent. The same applies to Samsung: The silver medal does not hide the fact that 400,000 fewer tablets left the Korean manufacturer’s factories, which corresponds to a decline of 5.8 percent.

winner

As the overall market has grown, there must be winners. With a 9.4 percent market share and growth of 43.6 percent, Huawei is the big beneficiary, followed by Lenovo and ultimately Xiaomi. The Chinese company sold 1.8 million devices: almost twice as many as in the first quarter of 2023.

The figures show that the battle for market share is primarily being fought by manufacturers who are present in emerging markets. Premium sales in the West are stagnating or declining, but those with a large offering in Asia or Africa will increase their market share.