The global tablet shipments continued their drop in Q3 2023 at a 14.2% year-over-year (YoY) decline with a total of 33.2 million units based on preliminary data from IDC, a market research firm.

It may not be as good as the same quarter last year, but compared to Q2 this 2023, there had been an 18% improvement, but that’s expected due to seasonality.

As seen in the table above, Apple still dominated with a substantial 15.1% decline YoY. Unlike previous years, Apple didn’t launch new models for the said quarter this 2023, which could’ve improved the numbers for the last six months of the year.

Samsung is in 2nd place, and as per IDC, the company is focusing on the premium segment and adding new marketing campaigns for a turnaround.

Tablet-Global-Shipment-Q3-2023

According to IDC, they have recorded “some of the largest contractions” in the tablet industry in the first three quarters of 2023 and it seems like the upcoming holiday season will be no different. They expect the current market condition to continue into 2024 as there are “no dramatic improvements in macroeconomic conditions.”

One IDC analyst also pointed out how tablets are in an “awkward middle ground” between smartphones and PCs, which “continues to put downward pressure on the market”. However, companies are starting to realize that tablets work best when paired with either a smartphone or PC, hence, one of the key ways to survive is to introduce unified software and experiences for different screen sizes.

Chromebook-Global-Shipment-Q3-2023

Like tablets, Chromebook shipments have also continued to contract YoY in Q3 2023 with a 20.8% decline. However, IDC is optimistic that Chromebooks are in a better position “due to a pending refresh in the education segment and leftover budgets within government spending.”

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