India Tablet Market Declined 24.9% YoY in 2023 to 4.01 Million Units

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

The India Tablet market, inclusive of detachables and slates, shipped 4.01 million units in 2023, down 24.9% year-on-year (YoY) according to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. The detachable category grew by 17.7% YoY and the slate category declined by 33.3% in 2023.

The consumer segment grew by 1.9% YoY, but the commercial segment declined sharply by 42.3% YoY as a few government deals were delayed or cancelled. The education segment declined by 53.7% YoY and SMBs fell by 25.9% YoY. Shipments through retail channels grew by 11.9% YoY, while an increased push from vendors like realme and Xiaomi led to strong 54% YoY growth for the direct internet channel where vendors sell their devices on their own website.

“As newer Chinese vendors such as realme and Xiaomi became aggressive, consumers had more to choose from. With options under US$300, with bigger screens, and increased usage of tablets for on-the-go productivity and entertainment, the consumer segment grew despite challenging market conditions,” says Bharath Shenoy, Senior Research Analyst, IDC India.

Top 5 Company Highlights: 2023

• Samsung led the market with a share of 39.5% as it topped the charts in both the commercial and consumer segments with shares of 46.6% and 33.4% respectively. However, it witnessed a YoY decline of 34.7% in 2023. While stiff competition from newer vendors led to a drop in share in the consumer segment, reduced manifesto deals impacted its commercial performance. Despite that, it continued to hold a dominating position in the commercial segment.
• Lenovo was a distant second behind Samsung with a share of 14.3% as its shipments fell by 38.6% YoY. While it was second in the commercial segment with a share of 17.5%, it held fifth place in the consumer segment with a share of 11.6%. With a limited presence in manifesto deals and reduced demand from edtech enterprises, Lenovo witnessed a steep 52.7% YoY decline in the commercial segment.
• Apple stood third with a share of 13.9% as it witnessed a YoY decline of 11.1%. The vendor was second in the consumer segment behind Samsung with a share of 21.2%. Despite losing market share, it continued to be a popular choice among students as it provided attractive discounts. In the commercial segment, it slowly gained traction from segments such as IT/ITES, automotive, etc.
• Acer Group held fourth position behind Apple with a share of 7.3%. Acer continued to hold third position in the commercial segment with a share of 15.7%. Acer has been of the key contenders in government driven projects and hence it felt a pinch as many of these projects got delayed or cancelled.
• Realme held fifth position with a share of 6.8% as it witnessed a YoY growth of 9.5%. Realme is a consumer-centric vendor and has been aggressive, especially during festive sales.

Commenting on the outlook, Navkendar Singh, Associate Vice President, Devices Research, IDC India, South Asia & ANZ said, “Tablets will be challenged in 2024 due to reduced demand in the commercial segment. Government-driven projects will be limited in the first half of 2024 due to the elections code of conduct. Also, tablets market will witness stiff competition from Chromebooks and entry level Android notebooks such as JioBook in the manifesto deals. With aggressive pricing, wider screens, keyboards, and 4G connectivity, the prospect of these entry-level notebooks in education deals looks positive."