Tablet sales slide again in Q1, iPads still lead but sales decline for fifth straight quarter

Worldwide tablet shipments fell year-over-year for the second consecutive quarter in the first quarter of 2015, according to a new report from IDC, while iPads remained the most popular devices in the category.

Overall shipments of tablets and 2-in-1 devices fell to 47.1 million in the quarter, a 5.9 percent decline from the same quarter a year ago according to preliminary research data, IDC said.

“The market slowdown that we witnessed last quarter is continuing to impact the tablet segment, but we see some growth areas that are starting to materialize,” said Jean Philippe Bouchard, IDC’s research director for tablets. “Cellular-enabled tablets are outgrowing the rest of the market, providing an additional revenue stream for OEMs and mobile operators.”

“In addition to driving higher usage than Wi-Fi-only tablets, cellular-enabled tablets also help position the segment as true mobile solutions rather than stay-at-home devices,” Bouchard added.

Apple still leads the overall market despite five consecutive quarters of negative annual shipment growth, IDC said. Apple shipped 12.6 million iPads in the first quarter, taking a 26.8 percent market share in volume, but falling 22.9 percent when compared to 1Q14.

In its recent Q2 2015 earnings report, Apple reported sales of 21.4 million iPads, a 21 percent drop from the year-ago period. Bloomberg analysts had predicted Apple would sell 22 million iPads during the quarter, which would represent a decline of 14 percent from last year.

IDC believes Apple’s iPad sales continue to suffer from the success of the new (larger) iPhones and, to a lesser extent, the Mac product line. IDC expects Apple to record negative growth until the iPad portfolio is significantly refreshed, either with the expected increase in screen size or by introducing a dedicated version of iOS for its tablet lineup.

Samsung has a 19.1 percent market share, maintaining its second place spot despite a 16.5 percent decline in shipments compared to the same period last year. Lenovo sells 5.3 percent of tablets worldwide, IDC said, while Asus sells 3.8 percent and LG 3.1 percent.

IDC scaled back its tablet sales expectations in a March 12 report. The research house said then that tablet makers will ship 234.5 million units in 2015, up only 2.1 percent from 2014. IDC first reported that tablet sales were declining in early February.

IDC said detachable-keyboard tablets are the one bright spot in the otherwise sobering report.

“While 2-in-1, or detachables, still account for a small portion of the overall market, growth in this space has been stunning as vendors like Asus, Acer, and E-FUN have been able to offer products at a fantastic value; and vendors like Microsoft have been able to drive growth at the high end with devices like the Surface Pro 3,” said IDC tablets analyst Jitesh Ubrani.