IDC: W. European Tablet Market "Stabilises"

IDC reports the W. European tablet market reaches stability of sorts in Q2 2015 as shipments reach 7.5 million with 1.2% Y-o-Y decline-- the softest since the downturn started at the beginning of 2014.

Leading to such results is the combination of weak consumer demand for tablets and growing commercial interest in 2-in-1 devices. As such, regular tablet shipments are down by -4.4% Y-o-Y while 2-in-1s see 71% Y-o-Y growth, even if 2-in-1 volume remains relatively small with overall share reaching 7.3% of the total Q2 2015 market.

IDC W Europe Q2 tablets

“The most notable new 2-in-1 model is probably the Microsoft Surface 3, a smaller and more affordable version of Surface Pro 3, but other new 2-in-1s were introduced by well-established international players as well as several local or sub-regional vendors," the analyst says. "The latter not only contributed to broaden the 2-in-1 offering but, thanks to the strength of their brand at a local level and the usually lower price points of their products, also helped boost the volume of the market for detachable devices, where their share jumped sequentially from below 1% to over 4%.”

IDC points out an opportunity for regional tablet players-- unlike the consolidated PC market, the tablet arena is going through a share redistribution phase. As such, the broad tablet vendor landscape allows smaller players to capture specific local demands or segment needs at the expense of more dominant players of the Apple and Samsung variety.

Samsung is top Q2 2015 W. European tablet vendor, taking over 26.8% market share as shipments grow by 18.8% Y-o-Y thanks to good demand and favourable Y-o-Y comparisons. Apple follows with 24.8% share due to slow replacements leading to shipment declines of -12.2% Y-o-Y.

Lenovo comes 3rd with flat (0.2% Y-o-Y growth) shipments, followed by a shrinking Asus. Microsoft enters the top 5 for the first time as it makes "good progress" with Surface Pro 3 and Surface 3 shipments.

Go European Tablet Market Stabilises and Vendor Dynamics Evolve Says IDC