What Display Daily thinks: Apple’s iPad is the creme de la creme of tablets. That may be its biggest weakness. It many ways, it is becoming a MacBook Air with a detachable, or no, keyboard. That sounds great. But, that’s a niche user. Too many things to track, maybe, with the high cost of Apple’s accessories making anyone wary of having to buy add-ons, and then replace them.
The Apple Pencil is over a $100 and they are very easy to lose. Detachable or add-on keyboards for tablets are easy to ruin.
The Daily Mail, a tabloid of dubious reputation, provides a surprising take with the title of its article: The beginning of the end for the iPad? Could be clickbait, but not really. It’s Huawei and Xiaomi and not Apple, Samsung, or Lenovo that are driving growth.
Does that have an impact on the proposition of an OLED iPad, a product that should be even more premium and expensive than existing solutions? OLED may be the optimal display solution, but is it too much for success in tablets?
Sometimes good enough is better than best. That may be the challenge facing Apple’s tablet business going forward. After all, there is no real attachment to the iPad in consumer perceptions, as there is with iPhones, for example.
Table Market Confuses and Confounds
The tablet market showed signs of recovery in Q3’23 after several quarters of decline, according to new data from analyst firm Canalys. Worldwide tablet shipments reached 33 million units, down 7% from a year earlier but up 8% sequentially from Q2 2023. The pickup in shipments comes ahead of the vital holiday shopping season.
However, the long-term outlook for tablets remains uncertain as consumers increasingly rely on smartphones for tasks once done on tablets. According to Canalys analyst Himani Mukka, tablet vendors need to focus on premium devices and integrating AI capabilities to maintain competitiveness.
The uncertain future of the tablet is highlighted by Apple’s latest earnings and, of all places, UK tabloid Daily Mail. While iPhone sales drove an 11% increase in Apple’s profits, iPad sales slumped 10% – the fourth straight quarterly decline. The Daily Mail takes the position that tablets like the iPad face tough competition from both advanced smartphones and laptops.
“When it was launched, the iPad created a name for itself as the accessible go-to tablet for consumers,” said Rebecca Crook, chief growth officer at CI&T to the Daily Mail. “Today, smartphones have much larger screens and can be used for content consumption. Furthermore, iPads don’t support many apps, which means you still need your phone.”
While the holiday season may temporarily boost sales, the tablet market needs major innovation to win back consumers in the long run. Vendors need to clearly demonstrate use cases beyond what smartphones can offer if tablets are to regain momentum.
| Vendor | Q3’23 Shipments | Q3’23 Market Share | Q3’22 Shipments | Q3’22 Market Share | Annual Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | 12,542 | 38.3% | 14,381 | 40.8% | -12.8% |
| Samsung | 6,219 | 19.0% | 6,610 | 18.8% | -5.9% |
| Lenovo | 2,600 | 8.0% | 2,712 | 7.7% | -4.1% |
| Huawei | 1,872 | 5.7% | 1,461 | 4.1% | 28.2% |
| Xiaomi | 1,618 | 4.9% | 736 | 2.1% | 119.7% |
| Others | 7,853 | 24.0% | 9,328 | 26.5% | -15.8% |
| Total | 32,705 | 100% | 35,228 | 100% | -7.2% |
