The tablet segment enjoyed a good second quarter, with year-over-year growth of 22.1% based on shipments of 34.4 million units worldwide, according to the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.

The positive results were driven by product refreshes from top companies and a replacement cycle that combined with inventory replenishment. Commentary in the press release suggests that sales only are comparable to pre-pandemic levels, not the explosive number during the crisis.

IDC provided updates on the top five vendors:

• Apple shipped 12.3 million units and had a 35.8% market share compared to a 37.0% market share in the year-ago quarter.
• Samsung shipped 6.9 million units and had a 20.1% market share compared to a 20.6% market share in the year-ago quarter.
• Lenovo shipped 2.5 million units and had a 7.3% market share compared to a 7.6% market share in the year-ago quarter.
• Huawei shipped 2.3 million units and had a 6.8% market share compared to a 5.9% market share in the year-ago quarter.
• Xiomi shipped 2.0 million units and had a 5.8% market share compared to a 3.7% market share in the year-ago quarter.

“The 2Q24 results signal that the market has moved beyond the pandemic,” said Anuroopa Nataraj, a senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers. “We expect the refresh cycle and growth in emerging markets to continue aiding the recovery in the near term.

“While new entrants to the market focus on their global expansion, long-term leaders continue to focus on improving technology (as in the case of OLED displays for iPad Pros), catering to the need for premium devices, and utilizing the power of emerging technologies like AI. Long-term gains for the market depend on the vendors’ ability to build devices that can carve a niche for tablets — one that includes innovation and differentiation.”