Worldwide tablet shipments fell to 33 million units in the first quarter of 2018, down 28.2% quarter-on-quarter and 14.9% year-on-year, according to Digitimes Research.
The publication attributed this decline to a lack of activity among non-Apple manufacturers during the post-holiday season, as well as white box clients adjusting their inventories. Apple’s shipments are expected to pick up in the second quarter, with the release of the new iPad Pro, as well as Amazon Fire devices in the run up to Amazon Prime Day on July 10th.
However, non-Apple shipments are not expected to pick up in the second quarter, with few new models slated for release. Second-quarter shipments from brand suppliers are expected to drop a further 2.7% quarter-on-quarter, while the overall market will decline by 6.24% to 31.06 million units, with white box makers seeing an even bigger downturn.
In terms of size, most tablets launched so far this year have been 9.7″ or above, while 7″ and 8″ sizes are declining steadily.
