Australian Tablet Sales Grow After Two Years Of Decline

Tablet device sales in Australia have grown by 4 per cent year-on-year for the first half of 2016, driven by the growing adoption of high end 2-in-1 devices.

According to a study from technology analyst firm Telsyte, 1.59 million devices were sold in H1 2016, marking the first growth in sales half-on-half since 2014.

Devices such as the iPad Pro, Microsoft’s Surface and Samsung’s Galaxy TabPro S are behind the growth, with revenue up by 33 per cent from H1 2015 attributed to consumers showing less interest in cheaper, lower-end devices.

“The decline in tablet sales that began in 2014 has stabilised and the market seems to have turned a corner,” Telsyte Managing Director Foad Fadaghi said.

80 per cent of tablet devices sold in the first half of the year were from either Apple, Samsung, Microsoft or Lenovo. Telsyte suggests Apple will remain market leader for at least the next two years, with consumers looking to replace ageing iPad models that are no longer supported. Apple also currently holds a repeat purchase intention rate of 80 per cent.

Windows-based tablets have also seen an increase in popularity driven by Microsoft, with about one in five devices sold in the first half of 2016 running Windows. 

Android tablet sales may be impacted by the recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, according to Telsyte. About a third of the devices sold in H1 2016 were Android-based.

15.1 million Australians now have access to a tablet device.