Canalys Newsroom

Friday, 4 August 2023

According to the latest Canalys data, worldwide shipments of tablets dropped 11% annually in Q2 2023, down to 31.0 million units. This represents a sequential decline from Q1 and signifies the lowest volume of global tablet shipments since Q1 2020. Meanwhile, Chromebooks enjoyed a decent quarter, with shipments up 1% annually to 5.9 million units, boosted by the return of education demand, with the back-to-school season in North America proving particularly fruitful.

The decline of the tablet market in Q2 2023 represents a small improvement over the 13% year-on-year drop experienced in the first quarter of the year. Apple strengthened its position as the leading tablet vendor, shipping 12.3 million units, which accounted for nearly two-fifths of the total global tablet market. Despite a 14% annual decline in shipments, Samsung secured the second position, shipping 6.0 million tablets. Third-placed Amazon and fourth-placed Lenovo posted the largest declines among the major tablet vendors, with shipments down 33% and 39% respectively. Huawei took fifth spot in the rankings, with 1.7 million units of shipments.

Worldwide tablet shipments (market share and annual growth)Canalys PC Market Pulse: Q2 2023

Vendor (company)

Q2 2023shipments

Q2 2023 market share

Q2 2022 shipments

Q2 2022market share

Annualgrowth

12,350

39.8%

12,102

34.9%

2.0%

Samsung

6,010

18.8%

6,952

20.0%

-13.6%

Amazon

2,206

6.9%

3,310

9.5%

-33.4%

Lenovo

2,136

6.7%

3,509

10.1%

-39.1%

Huawei

1,658

5.2%

1,707

4.9%

-2.8%

Others

6,658

20.8%

7,125

20.5%

-6.6%

Total

31,018

100%

34,705

100%

-10.6%

Note: Unit shipments in thousands. Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.Source: Canalys PC Analysis (sell-in shipments), August 2023

“Although demand for tablets has dropped from the highs of the pandemic, it remains relatively resilient,” said Himani Mukka, Research Manager at Canalys. “With the PC and smartphone markets also under threat, vendors selling tablets have an additional tool to help target pockets of opportunity in consumer, commercial and education sectors. The market will receive a boost from seasonally stronger demand in the second half of the year, with vendors continuing to launch new products, adopt aggressive go-to-market strategies and drive promotional activity. However, on the commercial front, it appears that the productivity gap between tablets and PCs is set to widen. With Intel and AMD setting roadmaps for the development of ‘AI PCs’, the future ability for tablets to serve as notebook replacements could be diminished as AI functionality becomes increasingly important to worker productivity.”

The global Chromebook market experienced minor growth in Q2 2023 after seven consecutive quarters of decline. HP secured the top spot as the leading Chromebook vendor, gaining over 10% market share as shipments grew 69% from last year. Lenovo held onto second place as its Chromebook shipments grew 15%, while third-placed Dell underwent a 15% decline, with both vendors shipping around 1.3 million units. Acer and Asus ranked fourth and fifth respectively, both losing market share compared to a year ago.

Worldwide Chromebook shipments (market share and annual growth)Canalys PC Market Pulse: Q2 2023

Vendor (company)

Q2 2023shipments

Q2 2023market share

Q2 2022 shipments

Q2 2022market share

Annualgrowth

HP

1,567

26.7%

926

16.0%

69.2%

Lenovo

1,342

22.9%

1,172

20.2%

14.5%

Dell

1,291

22.0%

1,517

26.2%

-14.9%

Acer

1,055

18.0%

1,343

23.2%

-21.4%

Asus

372

6.3%

415

7.2%

-10.4%

Others

234

4.0%

419

7.2%

-44.2%

Total

5,861

100%

5,792

100%

1.2%

Note: Unit shipments in thousands. Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.Source: Canalys PC Analysis (sell-in shipments), August 2023

“Chromebooks’ return to growth was heavily driven by a strong demand in the education sector in the US,” said Kieren Jessop, Research Analyst at Canalys. “The US accounted for 81% of global Chromebook shipments in Q2 2023, well above its average share since the start of the pandemic. Ahead of the upcoming school year, US institutions filed applications before the 13 May 2023 deadline for the government’s third round of the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF).” The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reports that the latest round of funding supported the rollout of 5.1 million connected devices, with total commitments to date reaching nearly 13 million connected devices. “However, the use of taxpayer money for Chromebooks has recently come under scrutiny, with the US Public Interest Research Group Education Fund publishing a critical report about the lifespan of devices. Barring further federal funding, schools holding onto older Chromebooks could face disruptions from usability and experience issues,” added Jessop.

For more information, please contact:

Himani Mukka: [email protected]

Kieren Jessop: [email protected]

Canalys’ PC Analysis service provides quarterly updated shipment data to help with accurate market sizing, competitive analysis and identifying growth opportunities in the market. Canalys PC shipment data is granular, guided by a strict methodology, and is broken down by market, vendor and channel, as well as additional splits, such as GPU, CPU, storage and memory. In addition, Canalys also publishes quarterly forecasts to help better understand the future trajectory and changing landscape of the PC industry.

Canalys is an independent analyst company that strives to guide clients on the future of the technology industry and to think beyond the business models of the past. We deliver smart market insights to IT, channel and service provider professionals around the world. We stake our reputation on the quality of our data, our innovative use of technology and our high level of customer service.

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