Soaring tablet sales in Q1 2021

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The number of book shelves in the world between January and March has largely exceeded 50% growth, approaching the record recorded in the third quarter of 2013. These terminals nonetheless face strong competition, especially from Chromebooks which have supplanted them in the education field.

39.9 million tablets have

In view of their continuous decline for many quarters, deliveries of tablets surprised last year by increasing by 13% over 12 months. And, things are off to a good start so that the current year ends on an even more positive note. Still stimulated by the explosion in the mobility market triggered by the Covid-19 crisis, the number of terminals sold (with and without a detachable keyboard) indeed reached 39.9 million in the first quarter of 2021, or 55.2%. better than the same period in 2020, according to IDC. We have to go back to the third quarter of 2013 to find an increase of this magnitude (+ 56.9%).

“Even though vaccination campaigns and the return of employees to site may slow the trend towards telecommuting, we are still returning to normal operating conditions. Demand for tablets, especially for models with detachable keyboard, should therefore continue to grow for a while, ”said Anuroopa Nataraj, analyst at IDC. Nevertheless, notes the latter, buyers are turning more and more to other product formats, which suggests a future filled with competition for the tablet market.

Sales of IDC tablets

Evolution of worldwide sales of tablets by manufacturer between the first quarters of 2020 and 2021. Source: IDC

357% quarterly increase for Chromebooks

Among the equipment offering an alternative to tablets are chromebooks, especially in the education sector. Previously, schools showed a strong preference for low prices and manageability of tablets. Since then, Chrome OS laptops have gained favor in the educational world, particularly in the United States, Western Europe and, more recently, Japan where they leave little room for other types of software. terminals.

Replacing tablets in the education sector contributed to the impressive 357% increase to 13 million units of global Chromebook sales in the first quarter of 2021. However, says Anuroopa Nataraj, “Their price and their reliance on cloud services still prevent them from becoming dominant in all parts of the world. In addition, they still have to make a significant breakthrough in the consumer market where notebooks and tablets have a strong presence ”.