Demand for tablets drops as online schooling ends

The rapid fall in consumer and education demand has accelerated the decline in tablet shipments as the world moves further from the peak of the pandemic, a new report has said.

Inflation and fears of a recession are at the forefront of consumers' minds, and spending on tablets has taken a backseat as the need for pandemic-era levels of use has fallen, according to a Canal's report.

"Unlike notebooks, tablets are not vital for business productivity, so commercial demand has not helped to offset the drop in consumer purchases," said analyst Himani Mukka.

"Though consumer weakness is expected to persist into Q3, back-to-school offers and new tablet launches ahead of the holiday spending season will provide a minor lift in demand," Mukka added.

Countries in Asia-Pacific are turning toward domestic production as governments actively encourage citizens to buy locally manufactured goods.

Many prominent players, including Lenovo, Acer and Samsung, have already jumped on board with this shift, particularly in India.

The latest data shows worldwide PC shipments (including tablets) suffered a second consecutive quarter of decline in Q2, falling 14 per cent to 105 million units.

Tablets fell for a fourth quarter in a row, down 11 per cent year on year, with 34.8 million units shipped worldwide.

The global Chromebook market stumbled after the surge in education demand in key markets a year ago.

"Chromebooks have now been hit by year-on-year shipment declines every quarter since Q3 2021," said research analyst Brian Lynch.

Lenovo led the total PC market (desktops, notebooks and tablets) as it shipped 20.9 million units worldwide to take a 20 per cent share of the market in Q2.

Apple at second place posted shipments of 16.6 million units and a 19 per cent year-on-year decline.

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