People are still buying tablets – and lots of them

If you bought an iPad over the Christmas period then you weren’t alone. Apple’s flagship series, easily among the best tablets, are still selling like hot potatoes, even as the pandemic recedes. 

IDC has crunched the numbers for Q4 2021, which encompasses the holiday period, and found that the global tablet market is alive and well, albeit with slowing sales after the pandemic inspired a new wave of people to own a large-screened device. 

During those three months, worldwide tablet shipments reached 46 million units, an 11.9% decline from the 52.2 million units shipped in the final three months of 2020.

Apple takes top spot

Apple led the charge, shipping 17.5 million iPads, down from 19.1 million in 2020, and claiming a whopping 38% of the overall market. 

Samsung was next, shipping 7.3 million devices, a decline from 9.3 million in 2020, claiming a 15.9% share. Somewhat surprisingly, Lenovo clocked in third with 4.6 million, down from 6.2 million in 2020, for a 10% share. 

Amazon came in fourth with 3.6 million, giving it a 7.9% share, followed by Huawei with 2.5 million for a 2.5% share. 

“Though 2021 was a great year for the tablet market, shipments have begun to decelerate as the market has moved past peak demand across many geographies,” said IDC’s Anuroopa Nataraj. “However, shipments in the near future will remain above pre-pandemic levels as virtual learning, remote work, and media consumption remain priorities for users.”

Total tablet shipments for the whole of 2021 reached 168.8 million units, up 3.2% from 2020, and the highest recorded figure since 2016. 

The next iPad 

Reliable Apple leaker Mark Gurman has been predicting some interesting updates for the iPad in 2022, including updates for the iPad Pro, iPad Air, and 10.2-inch iPad. (The iPad mini recently got an upgrade.) 

While details are fairly scarce, we would expect that Apple will give the new iPads a performance boost, refreshed industrial design, camera tweaks, and perhaps a few other surprise features. 

The iPad Air, which was refreshed in 2020, is definitely in-line for an upgrade, perhaps bringing in Apple’s customer M1 chips for extreme speed.