MEA tablet market declines by 12.3% in Q1

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) tablet market declined 12.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016 to total 3.32 million units, according to the latest figures from International Data Corporation (IDC). The global research and consulting services firm’s ‘Middle East and Africa Quarterly Tablet Tracker’ indicates that the MEA tablet market contracted on a year-on-year basis for the second quarter in a row, following the 8.8 percent year-on-year decline seen in the fourth quarter of 2015.

One bright spot amid the market’s overall slowdown is the growth of detachable tablets, which are steadily gaining popularity in the region following the launch of various new devices in this product category. Detachable tablets now account for 4.2 percent share of the overall tablet market, with shipments up by 335 percent year-on-year in the first quarter.

Samsung continued to lead the market in the first quarter with a 21.2 percent share, despite suffering a year-on-year decline in shipments of 23.3 percent. After a sluggish fourth quarter 2015, Lenovo retook second place with 12.3 percent share, despite posting a 21.7 percent year-on-year decline in shipments. Apple rounded out the top three with 11.5 percent share after posting an 11.0 percent decline in shipments.

IDC has revised its forecast for the 2016 MEA tablet market downwards and now expects a total of 14.9 million units to be shipped in the year, representing a year-on-year decline of 7.9 percent. The Windows operating system is expected to register healthy growth during the year in line with the growth in detachable devices. IDC expects shipments of detachable tablets, the bulk of which run on Windows, to grow 127.7 percent year on year in 2016.

Source: Telecom Paper