Tablet shipments in India recorded 38% growth over the previous quarter in India. Mobile companies shipped 0.94 million tablets in Q3 2017, as per CMR’s India Quarterly Tablet PC Market Review. However, the tablet PC market recorded 4% decline YoY. That said, tablet shipments don't come close to smartphone shipments in the country.
As per the report, Lenovo contributed 20.3% market share in the overall tablet market and witnessed 94% growth in 3Q CY2017 when compared to 2Q CY2017 in terms of unit shipments. Acer captured the second spot with 16% market share during this period in terms of unit shipments.
Lenovo’s growth in 3Q CY2017 was primarily because of the plan of distribution of its tablets towards NAMO E-Tab Tablet Sahay Yojana under the Gujarat government in August 2017. A considerable amount of growth came from the corporates also as they ramp up their digital transformation and customer experience initiatives and enable employees on the go with tablets. Lenovo’s tablet model Tab3 7 inch was the highest contributor with 13% market share in the overall tablet market in terms of unit shipments.
Talking about the tablet technology trends, 4G,3G, and Wi-Fi-based tablets witnessed a QoQ growth of 53%, 44% & 22% respectively in 3Q CY2017, whereas 2G based tablets witnessed a decline of 15% in 3Q CY2017 from the previous quarter.
In terms of OS, Android continued to be the top OS choice with 92% market share due to the increased availability of affordable Android-based tablets in the market. The Android market grew 43% from the last quarter, while iOS grew only 5% and its market share remained steady at 8% similar to the previous quarter.
Furthermore, the tablet market within the price range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 witnesses a huge growth of 160% than the tablets in the price range of Rs 10,000-Rs 20,000 and Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000, which saw 18% and 59% QoQ growth respectively in 3Q CY2017.
Recently Gujarat government has distributed Acer tablets among the 1st year college students which have contributed to the growth of Rs 5,000-10,000 tablets. On the other hand, the price category of less than Rs 5,000 witnessed the sharp sequential decline of 27% in 3Q CY2017.
“Over a period of time, Tablet PCs are finding improved adoption in Corporate as well as Government segment. Education was the key segment for B2B sales and the key driving force behind the growth in 3Q 2017. Tablet PC in consumer space are sidelined by Phablets (Mobiles with 5.5” & above screen size) due to lack of product differentiation and compelling use cases.” stated Narinder Kumar, Lead Analyst, CMR.
