Tablet Sales Dropped 25% In Q4 2021
Supply constraints and a drop in home office use saw tablet sales fall 25 per cent during the December quarter, according to new data from Strategy Analytics.
Microsoft nudged its way into the top five global vendors list for the first time, relaunching its Surface range despite components shortages.
Apple shipments dropped 22 per cent year-on-year, although they managed to hold onto its top spot in a sinking market. Samsung fell 28 per cent, to 7.3 million units, losing 0.7 per cent of market share, while retaining the top Android vendor.
Lenovo’s nine-quarter growth streak was also brought to an end, falling 17 per cent year-on-year during the quarter.
“Last year’s pre-vaccine holiday quarter was a tough one to compare against and when you add on the severe supply constraints impacting tablet vendors, it added up to a disappointing quarter,” explained Eric Smith, director – connected computing at Strategy Analytics.
“The maddening thing is, demand far exceeded supply at the end of 2021, holding back higher revenues for everyone. There are signs that supply shortages are easing already in 2022, but we are not guiding this situation to end until after summer.”
In this stagnating market, Google is hoping to shine, recently advertising a new job opening for a Senior Engineering Manager, Android Tablet App Experience.
In the job description, Google explains: “We believe that the future of computing is shifting towards more powerful and capable tablets. We are working to deliver the next chapter of computing and input by launching seamless support across our platforms and hero experiences that unlock new and better ways of being productive and creative.”