Canalys: Tablet PC sales move down for another 11% in 2023

According to Canalys analysts, the global tablet market ended 2023 with not the best indicators.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, tablet shipments fell 11% year-over-year to 37.8 million units. For the whole of 2023, 135.3 million tablets were shipped, which is 10% less than in 2022.

China and India have become key markets driving tablet adoption and helping to counter stagnation in other parts of the world. Analysts expect the market to recover in 2024 thanks to better inventory levels and further rollout of government and commercial programs.

New models announced by TCL and Lenovo at CES 2024, as well as expected updates to Apple’s iPad portfolio earlier this year, will help push the tablet refresh. Analysts are also sure that in 2024, manufacturers will pay more attention to the form factor of foldable tablets.

While supply will likely be limited due to the premium price of these models, they will provide an opportunity for vendors to demonstrate the benefits of the user experience for content consumption, learning and productivity.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the tablet market showed the highest performance of Chinese vendors.

Huawei showed a 95% increase in shipments, which allowed it to climb to third place in the ranking. Apple maintained its lead despite a 24% year-over-year decline and shipped 14.8 million iPads this quarter.

Second place was taken by Samsung with 6.8 million devices, which is 11% less than in the previous quarter.

Lenovo fell to fourth place, although it showed a 15% increase in shipments.

The fifth position is taken by Amazon with an annual drop of 44% and 2 million shipped tablets.