Worldwide tablet PC market surges by 26% in Q2 2020

Worldwide tablet shipments hit 37.5 million units in Q2 2020, a remarkable 26% year-on-year increase. Tablets, part of the PC market, had faltered in recent years, but demand in Q2 2020 was boosted by consumers and businesses wanting affordable access to basic computing power and larger screens to facilitate remote work, learning and leisure. Vendors were able to ramp up production to meet this renewed demand. At the same time, retailers and carriers in various markets provided financial incentives on devices and data to encourage tablet purchases.

Worldwide tablet shipments (market share and annual growth)
Canalys PC Market Pulse Q2 2020

Vendor (company)

Q2 2020
shipments

Q2 2020
market share

Q2 2019
shipments

Q2 2019
market share

Annual
growth

Apple

14,249,000

38.0%

11,894,000

40.0%

19.8%

Samsung

7,024,000

18.7%

5,048,000

17.0%

39.2%

Huawei

4,770,000

12.7%

3,300,000

11.1%

44.5%

Amazon

3,164,000

8.4%

2,308,000

7.8%

37.1%

Lenovo

2,810,000

7.5%

1,838,000

6.2%

52.9%

Others

5,525,000

14.7%

5,379,000

18.1%

2.7%

Total

37,542,000

100.0%

29,767,000

100.0%

26.1%

Note: percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Source: Canalys PC Analysis (sell-in shipments), August 2020

The top five tablet vendors all benefited from the surge in demand to post double-digit growth and reach shipment levels usually associated with the Q4 holiday season. Apple grew iPad shipments by 20% to lead the market once again, shipping more than 14 million units, a record for a second quarter. Samsung maintained its second-place position, shipping 7 million units and growing 39%. Huawei came third, with shipments up 45% year on year, thanks to a particularly strong performance in Western Europe. Amazon followed with an increase of 37%, then Lenovo, which leads the overall PC market, and was the fastest growing tablet vendor, up 53%.

Top five worldwide tablet vendors - Canalys estimates, PC Analysis, August 2020

“Tablets enjoyed a renaissance in Q2 2020 because the devices tick so many boxes for remote work and education use,” said Canalys Analyst Ishan Dutt. “The ability to collaborate virtually as well as view and interact with digital content has become paramount, especially in the education space. The coronavirus pandemic has increased competition for communal screen access between household members forced to stay indoors. Tablets help overcome this problem by allowing each family member to have their own device. And they are more budget-friendly than desktops and notebooks. For users with greater productivity needs, the proliferation of detachable tablets has been a boon. These devices have gained traction as primary devices for work and it is vital to include them when evaluating the PC market as a whole. Apple and Lenovo’s recent success shows that having a tablet offering as a mainstream PC vendor is invaluable.”

“The channel and carrier ecosystem around tablets has also played a significant role in this stellar Q2 performance,” said Canalys Senior Analyst Ben Stanton. “Vendors and retailers in mature markets have offered massive discounts as part of their back-to-school promotions. They have also ramped up their capacity to manage online sales and delivery in the face of lockdown measures. Carriers have also taken important steps beyond just providing devices. For example, in the United States, AT&T offered 60 days of unlimited wireless data service for education-issued tablets to qualifying schools nationwide. In many mobile-first markets in Asia Pacific, where 4G connectivity is often cheaper and more reliable than broadband, having a wide range of connected tablet options has been vital to ensure remote education is possible.”

Worldwide PC (including tablet) shipments (market share and annual growth)
Canalys PC Market Pulse Q2 2020

Vendor (company)

Q2 2020
shipments

Q2 2020
market share

Q2 2019
shipments

Q2 2019
market share

Annual
growth

Lenovo

20,206,000

18.3%

18,109,000

18.7%

11.6%

Apple

19,600,000

17.7%

16,624,000

17.2%

17.9%

HP

18,136,000

16.4%

15,443,000

16.0%

17.4%

Dell

12,084,000

10.9%

11,699,000

12.1%

3.3%

Samsung

7,530,000

6.8%

5,329,000

5.5%

41.3%

Others

32,952,000

29.8%

29,461,000

30.5%

11.8%

Total

110,508,000

100.0%

96,664,000

100.0%

14.3%

Note: percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Source: Canalys PC Analysis (sell-in shipments), August 2020

The total PC market (including tablets), grew 14% to 110.5 million in Q2 2020. Lenovo took first place, shipping 20.2 million desktops, notebooks and tablets, a year-on-year increase of 12%. Apple came second with 19.6 million shipments, up 18% year on year on the back of an impressive quarter for its iPads and MacBooks. HP, Dell and Samsung rounded out the top five.

Global total PC shipments - Canalys estimates, PC Analysis, August 2020

For more information, please contact:

Canalys China
Jason Low: jason_low@canalys.com +86 159 2128 2971
Nicole Peng: nicole_peng@canalys.com +86 150 2186 8330

Canalys India
Rushabh Doshi: rushabh_doshi@canalys.com +91 99728 54174
Adwait Mardikar: adwait_mardikar@canalys.com +91 96651 38668

Canalys Singapore
Ishan Dutt: ishan_dutt@canalys.com +65 8399 0487 
Matthew Xie: matthew_xie@canalys.com +65 8319 8343

Canalys UK
Ben Stanton: ben_stanton@canalys.com +44 7824 114 350
Kelly Wheeler: kelly_wheeler@canalys.com +44 7919 563 270

Canalys USA
Marcy Ryan: marcy_ryan@canalys.com +1 650 862 4299
Vincent Thielke: vincent_thielke@canalys.com +1 650 644 9970 

About Canalys

Canalys is an independent analyst company that strives to guide clients on the future of the technology industry and to think beyond the business models of the past. We deliver smart market insights to IT, channel and service provider professionals around the world. We stake our reputation on the quality of our data, our innovative use of technology and our high level of customer service.

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