Tablet shipments dropped for a second consecutive quarter from January through March, according to new figures from IDC.
According to the research firm, tablet and 2-in-1 device shipments dropped 5.9 percent compared to the same quarter last year, down to 47.1 million.
“The market slowdown that we witnessed last quarter is continuing to impact the tablet segment,” IDC Tablet Research Director Jean Philippe Bouchard said in a statement.
However, the researchers found that there are some growth areas emerging, with cellular-enabled tablets growing at a faster pace than the rest of the market.
“Although the tablet market is in decline, 2-in-1’s are certainly a bright spot,” said Jitesh Ubrani, Senior Research Analyst, Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker.
“While 2-in-1, or detachables, still account for a small portion of the overall market, growth in this space has been stunning as vendors like Asus, Acer, and E-FUN have been able to offer products at a fantastic value; and vendors like Microsoft have been able to drive growth at the high end with devices like the Surface Pro 3.”
“In addition to driving higher usage than Wi-Fi-only tablets, cellular-enabled tablets also help position the segment as true mobile solutions rather than stay-at-home devices,” Bouchard said.
Apple shipped 12.6 million iPads in the first quarter, with a market share of 26.8 percent. However, the number of shipments is 22.9 percent lower than last year.
According to the IDC report, “iPads continue to suffer from the success of the new iPhone and to a lesser extent of the Mac product line.”
The IDC expects the Cupertino-based company to report negative growth until the iPad portfolio is “significantly refreshed”.
Samsung, with 19.1% market share, posted a 16.5% decline in shipments compared to the same period last year.
