New data from Digitimes Research indicates that global tablet shipments will decline in 2018 and continue to do so over the next five years, due to increasing competition from large-sized smartphones like the 6.5″ iPhone XS Max. Shipments are expected to drop down to 141 million units in 2019, going on to decline at a negative of CAGR of 2-3% between 2021 and 2023, remaining above 120 million units.
This downward trajectory is expected to lead brand manufacturers to continue pricing their tablet products competitively, leading to a decline in white-box tablet shipments in the realm of 10-20%, despite these products seeing slight growth in 2018, analysts said. The ≥9″ segment will see shipment growth in 2018, thanks to demand from the education sector and users of smaller tablet devices.
Apple is expected to see gradual yet continual growth over the next five years due to the appeal of its entry-level iPad product and the longer life cycle of its devices compared to Android equivalents, encouraging replacement buyers.
