Global tablet shipments reached only 28.09 million units in the second quarter of 2023, down nearly 5% from a quarter ago, due to the quarter being the traditional slow season and sales in key markets such as North America and China showing no major improvement, according to DIGITIMES Research's figures from the latest tablet report. Although the shipments will pick up in the second half, the growth will not be robust.
With the retail channel beginning to replenish inventory for the peak season and Apple set to launch new iPads, DIGITIMES Research expects global tablet shipments to rise sequentially in both the third and fourth quarters.
In the second quarter, iPad shipments had a sequential decline higher than those of non-iPad tablets, resulting in iPads' combined shipment share seeing two consecutive quarters of decline. However, the share will gradually pick up during the second half because of Apple's inventory replenishment needs in the third quarter and orders for a new small-size iPad in the fourth quarter, the figures show.
Tablets equipped with a 10.x-inch display accounted for nearly 70% of overall shipments in the second quarter as Apple and major tablet brands are all treating the size as the mainstream specification for the mobile device. However, with some brands turning to releasing smaller-size tablets in the third quarter, the shipment share of 10.x-inch tablets will slip.
Because of iPads' weaker-than-expected shipments in the second quarter, Taiwan-based ODMs' contribution to global tablet shipments was less than 33% during the quarter, but the share will climb back quarter after quarter in the second half, driven by the release of Apple's new model.
