Microsoft ranks top 5 tablet brands for the first time

Strategy Analytics has released statistics on the global tablet PC market for the fourth quarter of 2021. Shipments have dropped drastically and the ranking of the biggest players has changed.

From October to December, tablet deliveries amounted to approximately 46.7 million units. That’s 25% less than in the last quarter of 2020. This is explained by the global scarcity of electronic components. Also, very high sales were recorded in the shadow of the pandemic last year and only now the demand has decreased.

Global tablet sales down

The leading supplier is Apple, with a share of approximately 31% and 14.6 million tablets shipped. iPad shipments fell 21% in one year. Let us remind you that following the results of the quarterly conference, the company announced a 14% decrease in its revenue from tablet sales. Shipments of 10-inch iPad models dwindled the most, according to Apple, due to component shortages.

In second place is Samsung with 7.3 million tablets sold and a share of approximately 16%. Sales of devices from the South Korean giant decreased by 28% year-on-year.

Amazon is closing the top three with 5.8 million tablets sold, accounting for 12% of the market. The company’s sales, on the other hand, decreased by 13%.

Then comes Lenovo, which shipped 4.6 million tablets during the quarter and took 10% of the industry. Deliveries fell 17% compared to the last quarter of 2020.

Microsoft broke into the top five for the first time with the Surface tablet family. The company has sold 1.9 million devices and, as a result, owns 4% of the industry.