Global Tablets Shipments Fall 25% in Q4 2021; Samsung and Apple Affected

The once-booming tablet market appears to have hit a snag, with shipments dropping 25 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, says a new report. According to research firm Strategy Analytics, supply constraints held market growth to a decline of 25 percent year-on-year (YoY). “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,” Eric Smith, Director, Connected Computing, said in a statement.

“The maddening thing is, demand far exceeded supply at the end of 2021, holding back higher revenues for everyone,” Smith added.

Microsoft cashed in on the need for mobile productivity devices with its massive Surface portfolio refresh and joined the ranks of the top global tablet vendors for the first time ever. Meanwhile, most vendors experienced setbacks in securing components to meet persistently high demand. Apple shipments (sell-in) fell 22 percent YoY to 14.6 million units, with worldwide market share climbing one percentage point to 31 percent as the vendor outpaced the market.