Tablet sales grew strongly in the MEA region in Q3’14, says IDC, spurred by significant Android shipments. Volume rose 29.6%, to 4.15 million units. Growth was most evident in the consumer segment, which was boosted by a number of IT festivals and back-to-school promotions.
YoY declines hit both iOS and Windows in Q3, but Android tablet shipments were up 47% YoY. Shipments were aggressive by a number of local and Asian low-cost vendors, which caused price declines and spurred more demand.
Samsung, which suffered a QoQ shipment decline in Q2, enjoyed both a QoQ and YoY rise in Q3, to 996,000 units. Apple remained in second place, with a decline in annual and sequential shipments to 572,000. Lenovo was not far behind, shipping 525,000 tablets. Asus posted healthy growth and climbed to 361,000 shipments. Huawei secured fifth place, with 81,000 unit shipments (a QoQ decline but YoY rise).
The commercial sector slowed in Q3’14, but there were several significant orders completed across the region, for both governments and corporations. No large tablet deliveries took place in the education market, but 11,000 hybrid devices were delivered as part of the UAE’s ‘Smart Learning’ initiative. IDC predicts strong growth of these devices from 2015 onwards, particularly in the commercial sector as screen sizes grow.
