Strategy Analytics: Global tablet sales are expected to reach 160.8 million units in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 1%

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, people's work, study and entertainment are all done at home, and electronic devices at home have become extremely popular. Consumers are buying tablets at the fastest rate in six years. Strategy Analytics' latest research report pointed out that by 2020, global tablet sales are expected to increase by 1% year-on-year to 160.8 million units. The analysis also showed that consumers are turning to larger screen sizes, and the screen size of most (56%) tablets exceeds 10 inches for the first time. More and more tablets are used for productivity and educational purposes, which has also driven the sales of detachable 2-in-1 devices (for example, Samsung's Galaxy Tab S7, Microsoft's Surface Pro 7, and all Apple's current iPad models except iPad mini). The report pointed out that although tablet sales may remain stable in the next few years, competition will become more intense with the emergence of laptop alternatives.

Eric Smith, Director of the Connected Computing service at Strategy Analytics, said: “Consumer productivity needs are the key factor driving these trends, but let’s face it: quarantine is boring and streaming video is better on a larger screen. Even cheap entertainment slates are taking some share from the fast-growing tablet market. Demand for small tablets is declining as larger smartphones/tablets continue to put pressure on demand for smaller tablets. As a result, tablet vendors are concentrating their product portfolios on the 10-inch to 13-inch market segment. In addition, detachable tablet shipment share has exploded from 17% in 2017 to 40% in 2020.”

Chirag Upadhyay, Senior Research Analyst at Strategy Analytics, added: “Laptop vendors are competing equally hard for entertainment needs (such as gaming, or adding improved displays and audio), and have built strength in the productivity category during the past two years of commercial PC refreshes. In addition, economic stimulus during the pandemic may have artificially driven high demand, and as reality sets in and in-person work and school return, intense competition will lead to more market consolidation. In the long term, work-from-home policies have led to some workers, students, and employees remaining remote after the pandemic, maintaining higher demand for mobile computing than previously expected.”