Global Tablet, Chromebook Shipments Register Huge Growth in Q1 2021: IDC

Global demand for Chromebooks and tablet saw a massive surge in Q1 2021, as per a report by International Data Corporation (IDC). While tablets registered a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 55.2 percent with a total of 39.9 million units shipped, Chromebook shipments grew by a massive 357.1 percent to 13 million in Q1 2021, as per the report. IDC said that the growth of this magnitude in the tablets market has not been seen since the third quarter of 2013.

The IDC Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker has also provided individual performance of the various tablet and Chromebook vendors. Apple continued to lead the tablets category with a total shipment of 12.7 million and a market share of 31.7 percent. The company had shipped 7.7 million units in Q1 2020, which corresponds to a 64.3 percent growth in Q1 2021.

Samsung took the second spot with a shipment of 8 million tablets to grab a 20 percent market share. It registered a YoY growth of 60.8 percent. Lenovo shipped 3.8 million units to claim a 9.4 percent market share, registering a 138.1 percent YoY growth.

Amazon at number four had the strongest YoY growth at 143 percent with a total shipment of 3.5 million tablets for an 8.7 percent market share. Huawei took the fifth spot with a shipment of 2.7 million tablets, market share of 6.8 percent and a YoY growth of 1.7 percent.

"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," said Anuroopa Nataraj, Rresearch Analyst with IDC's Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.

When it comes to Chromebooks, HP shipped 4.4 million units in Q1 2021 to grab a 33.5 percent market share. Its performance corresponds to a whopping 633.9 percent YoY growth. The second spot went to Lenovo with a total shipment of 3.3 million Chromebooks. It grabbed a 25.6 percent market share and registered a 356.2 percent YoY growth.

Acer stood third with a shipment of 1.9 million units and a YoY growth of 150.9 percent, while Dell at the fourth stop shipped 1.5 million units registering a 327.1 percent growth. Samsung came fifth with a 496 percent growth compared to the same quarter last year and a total shipment 1 million units.

“There's no doubt that Chromebooks have supplanted tablets in many education markets. However, price and the dependence on cloud services have prevented them from becoming mainstays in all regions,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager with IDC's Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.