Indian Tablet Market Slows Down as Annual Shipments Dip by 11% in 2017

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According to International Data Corporation's (IDC) Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, 717 thousand tablets were shipped in India with a 32% sequential decline in 2017Q4; and registered similar shipments when compared to the same time a year ago. After a big spike in 2017Q3 and completion of the Gujarat State government tablets deal, the commercial segment declined by 35% in 2017Q4. However, it saw a strong 75% growth compared to the same quarter last year.

For the entire year of 2017, the Indian tablet market witnessed a total shipment of 3.2 million units declining at 11% from 3.6 million units shipped in 2016. The strong demand from commercial segment has marginalized the overall decline to an early double-digit number. However, the consumer segment witnessed a consecutive decline for the second straight year.

In the product category, slate continues to dominate the Indian market with 96% of the tablet shipments, while the share of the detachable remains limited to 4% in 2017. Most of the screen sizes have grown when compared to 2016. In contrast, the 7-inch segment saw a 22% annual decline, though it has remained a dominating segment in 2017.

“The 7-inch slate segment is facing strong pressure from the popularity of phablets, and vendors have started focusing more on larger screens now,” says, Ashweej Aithal, market analyst, IDC India. “The comfort of a large screen for media consumption is attracting users to migrate to 10-inch tablets. It also works better for users who read and edit documents on the go.” adds Aithal

While highlighting the demand for tablet, Jaipal Singh, senior market analyst, IDC India, commented, “The government buying will continue to drive the momentum in tablet category in 2018. The continued focus of Government of India on Digital India will invite more government departments to participate in digitalizing their processes which will further spur growth in this category. Also, BFSI, Pharmaceuticals, Automobile, and Hospitality sectors will continue to buy more tablets as they progress on standardizing their point of sales (POS) and know your customers (KYC) operations”       

Company Highlights:

Lenovo continues to lead the Indian tablet market with 26.1% market share as its shipment grew 34.2% year-over-year (YoY. However, the vendor saw a decline of 31.7% from the previous quarter. Lenovo’s strong focus in the commercial segment has helped it to remain in the leadership position for three consecutive quarters.

iBall debuted at the second position replacing Samsung for the first time as its shipment grew by 15.2% year-over-year (YoY). Also, it became a leader in the consumer segment as it was quick to gain the share from the vendors who have shifted their focus to commercial segment.

Samsung slipped to the third place, as its shipments declined by 17% year-over-year (YoY) and 22.1% from the previous quarter. Samsung’s Galaxy J Max remains their bestselling model followed by their newly launched Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2017).

Apple debuted to the fourth position with a healthy 30.5% annual and 9.1% sequential growth in 2017Q4. The strong demand for Apple’s 2017 launches “iPad” and “iPad Pro”, coupled with the attractive cashback offers, has helped the brand to quickly gain a share in the market.

Datawind maintained its position in the top five companies despite the decline in shipments to almost half when compared to its volume with the same time a year ago.

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International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and Events Company.