Tablet Sales Tumble in Q1 on Lower Apple, Samsung Sales; Competitors Gain

Apple and Samsung suffered double-digit Q1 shipment declines in tablets, said Strategy Analytics in a report. Despite “pockets of growth” in the market among Huawei, LG and TCL-Alcatel, the overall tablet market fell 8 percent year over year, while Apple and Samsung are using 2015 as a “rebuilding year” for future growth, Strategy Analytics said. Smaller, more nimble competitors are gaining on Apple and Samsung with “innovative new features and cellular-connected tablets,” said analyst Eric Smith. The period of “phenomenal historic growth has come to an end and a much more normal growth rate is now prevailing,” he said. Apple has begun a marketing campaign to revive sales "after a five-quarter slump,” said analyst Peter King. Thinner and slightly faster SKUs "aren’t going to bring iPad back to growth,” said King, but Apple's work with IBM in the enterprise market, along with rumored new features for upcoming models, "should position the company well for long-term growth." Samsung will pare down its product portfolio to focus on a “tighter circle of strong performers,” such as Tab S, Tab 4 and the new Tab A, said Strategy Analytics. Meanwhile, Huawei shipped 1.3 million tablets in Q1, a jump of 147 percent, giving the Chinese vendor a 2.4 percent market share. North America will account for 28 percent of global tablet shipments this year, and user penetration for the region will reach 49 percent, said the researcher. Asia Pacific, the world's largest tablet region in 2015, accounts for 35 percent of global shipments, while user penetration remains at 6 percent, leaving “large, untapped populations in emerging markets,” it said.