The big picture: Tablet sales rocketed in Q1 2021, with Apple’s iPad holding onto the top-spot as the most popular tablet worldwide. Google’s Chromebooks also saw impressive growth thanks to increased adoption in many educational settings – a move that could eat into tablet sales in years to come.
Globally, tablet sales in Q1 2021 stood at 39.9 million units – a huge increase compared with last year’s sales of 25.7 million. Apple’s iPad represented 31.7 percent of shipments in the recent quarter, with Samsung clocking-in at second place with a 20 percent share. Lenovo and Amazon took third and fourth place, holding a smaller 9.4 percent and 8.7 percent share, respectively.
Anuroopa Nataraj, research analyst with IDC, said: “While vaccine rollouts and businesses returning to offices may slow down the work-from-home trend, we are still far from returning to ‘normal’ working conditions and hence the demand for tablets, especially detachables, is expected to continue for a while.”
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However, IDC points out that Chromebook sales also rocketed in the same quarter, growing by a staggering 357.1 percent. The research firm highlights that this is likely due to the Chromebook’s increased use in educational settings, like schools and colleges – a market that tablet computers had previously been closing in on.
Apple recently reported record revenue of $89.6 billion, an increase of 54 percent compared to the same period a year earlier. The iPhone alone accounted for $47.9 billion, despite seemingly poor sales of its iPhone 12 mini model.
At the time, Apple CEO Tim Cook said: “This quarter reflects both the enduring ways our products have helped our users meet this moment in their own lives, as well as the optimism consumers seem to feel about better days ahead for all of us.”