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Strongest growth in second quarter comes from Amazon and Huawei, according to IDC figures.
The number of tablet devices shipped worldwide declined in the second quarter of this year, but a handful of vendors recorded substantial growth, including Amazon and Huawei, according to new figures shared by IDC this week.
Unit shipments, including slates and detachables, came in at 38.7 million in the three months to the end of June, down 12.3% year-on-year, the analyst firm said.
The slide comes as vendors refocus their product lines and consumers delay purchases, it added.
Slate form factors account for more than three quarters of the market, but are losing ground, IDC said, without providing figures.
"The market has spoken as consumers and enterprises seek more productive form factors and operating systems – it’s the reason we’re seeing continued growth in detachables," said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst at IDC, in a statement.
As a result, the Android operating system, which accounted for 65% of the market in Q2, is coming under pressure. The Google OS is currently struggling to compete with Windows-based detachable products and with Apple’s iOS.
"However, the next 12 to 18 months will be very interesting as Google launches the next version of Android with better multi-tasking support and as they begin to bring together their two operating systems," Ubrani said.
Despite shipping 1 million fewer iPads in Q2 than in the year-ago quarter, Apple remains the leading vendor in the tablet space, its 10 million iPad shipments giving it a 25.8% market share, up by almost a percentage point.
Number two vendor Samsung reported sliding sales and market share. The South Korean firm shipped 6 million devices, down from 8 million in Q2 last year, and its market share fell to 15.6% from 18.2%. Meanwhile, third-ranked Lenovo’s 2.5 million shipments were flat, but its market share grew to 6.6%.
Performances were stronger lower down the ranking.
Huawei shipped 2.2 million units, up from 1.3 million, almost doubling its market share to 5.6%.
Its slate devices are performing well in the Asia-Pacific, and Middle East and Africa regions, but IDC warns that its Matebook has had a "rocky start" in the detachables space, its specs not matching up to its price tag. "It’s imperative for this to change should Huawei expect to make any headway in this space," the firm said.
The biggest grower in the top five was Amazon, which shipped 1.6 million devices in Q2, albeit from a tiny base of 0.1 million in the year-ago quarter, giving it a 4% market share. However, its growth rate is slightly distorted as IDC did not include Amazon’s 6-inch tablets in its Q2 2015 figures.
"Credit goes to Amazon as its performance this quarter has been reflective of the aptly named Fire tablets," IDC said, noting that its success stemmed from its low price and Amazon’s vast online presence.
"Given the growing popularity of Amazon’s Prime Day Sale, it would not be surprising if Amazon performs similarly in the next quarter," the analyst firm predicted.
