Lenovo, Apple lead tablet market growth in India

Tablet shipments in India grew by 31% year-on-year (YoY) in (October-December) Q4 2021, while shipments for calendar year (CY) 2021 grew by 4%, said market research firm CyberMedia Research (CMR) in its quarterly report, published on February 17. The report didn’t have data on the number of shipments.

In the consumer segment, festive season sales contributed to the quarterly growth, said Menka Kumari, analyst, Industry Intelligence Group, CMR. "Beyond the B2C segment, the B2B tablet segment also saw a strong uptick, especially in healthcare and digital education, among others,” she added. 

Kumari said the need for companion devices for remote work, learning and entertainment after the pandemic was the primary growth driver for tablets in India for the second consecutive year.  

Though people have started returning to offices, CMR doesn't expect the tablet demand to drop anytime soon. The research firm said it expects shipments to grow around 5-10% in CY 2022, even though (January to March) Q1 2022 is expected to be slow due to supply issues.

Having said that, Kumari said that India’s tablet market is “primed for new, differentiated offerings at the premium as well as the affordable” tablets. She explained that with the pandemic potentially entering into an endemic stage in 2022, the enterprise B2B tablet segment for applied commercial use cases is expected to grow further.

In 2021, Lenovo was the top performer during both the December quarter and the year, with 46% market share. The Chinese firm’s quarterly shipments grew by 76% while annual shipments grew by 23%. 

CMR attributed Lenovo's continued dominance to the company's focus on the offline market and enterprise tablet business. The Lenovo Tab M10 HD Tablet series accounted for 32% of shipments in the Rs 7,000-25,000 segment, the report said.

American Apple was the second leading tablet seller in CY 2021, accounting for 20% of the tablet shipments, growing at 29% YoY. Apple iPads were the most shipped tablets in the premium segment (above Rs 30,000), according to CMR.

The tablet market also saw some surprises. For instance, Chinese brand Realme, which entered the tablet market in 2021, moved to the second position in Q4 with 12% market share. In terms of annual shipments, Realme was the fourth leading brand with 6% market share. 

Samsung was the fourth leading brand in Q4 21 with 12% market share, down from 31% a year ago. Its annual shipments also declined from 30% in 2020 to 18% in 2021.