Indian tablet market down by 24.9% in 2023, Samsung leads the market

• The Indian tablet market has reported a decline of 24.9% in shipments in 2023.
• Samsung led the market in India despite a huge decline in its shipments.
• Realme has emerged as the only company in the top five to report a year-on-year increase in shipments.

The Indian tablet market reported a huge decline in shipments in the country in 2023, with 40.1 lakh tablets shipped during the year. The tablet shipments in India in 2023 declined by 24.9% compared to shipments in 2022.

It’s not just the Indian market as the worldwide tablet shipments also declined in 2023 to hit a 12-year low. According to a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC), while there was a small increase in shipments in the consumer segment, the commercial segment declined sharply.

As per the report, while the consumer segment reported a 1.9% year-on-year growth, the commercial segment declined by 42.3%, due to delays and cancellations in government deals. The education segment also declined by 53.7% as offline classes have returned to normalcy.

“With options under $300 (approx. ₹24,800), with bigger screens, and increased usage of tablets for on-the-go productivity and entertainment, the consumer segment grew despite challenging market conditions,” said Bharath Shenoy, senior research analyst, IDC India.

Samsung leads shipments despite a decline

Company	2023 units	2022 units	Change
Samsung	15.86 lakh	24.31 lakh	-34.7%
Lenovo	5.75 lakh	9.36 lakh	-38.6%
Apple	5.59 lakh	6.28 lakh	-11.1%
Acer	2.93 lakh	5.41 lakh	-45.8%
Realme	2.71 lakh	2.48 lakh	9.5%

Source: IDC

Four out of the top five companies reported a decline in shipments in 2023, with Acer reporting the highest decline.

Samsung leads the market with 15.86 lakh tablets shipped in 2023, down from 24.31 lakh tablets shipped during 2022, a decline of 34.7%.

While Lenovo and Apple recorded a decline of 38.6% and 11.1% respectively, Acer recorded the highest decline in shipments at 45.8%. As per the report, Acer is a key player in government-driven projects and a decline in these projects hit the company the most.

Realme emerged as the only company in the top five to report an increase in shipments, from 2.48 lakh in 2022 to 2.71 lakh in 2023, a growth of 9.5%.

Decline in market share of old players

Company	2023 share	2022 share
Samsung	39.50%	45.50%
Lenovo	14.30%	17.50%
Apple	13.90%	11.80%
Acer	7.30%	10.10%
Realme	6.80%	4.60%
Others	18.20%	10.50%

Source: IDC

There was a decline in shipments of companies such as Samsung, Lenovo and Apple, while companies like Realme and Xiaomi reported a growth. “As newer Chinese vendors such as realme and Xiaomi became aggressive, consumers had more to choose from,” Shenoy added.

While Samsung’s share declined from 45.5% in 2022 to 39.5% in 2023, Lenovo’s share declined from 17.5% in 2022 to 14.3% in 2023. As per the report, increased competition from newer players has impacted the performance of these companies.

“Tablets will be challenged in 2024 due to reduced demand in the commercial segment. Government-driven projects will be limited in the first half of 2024 due to the election code of conduct. Also, the tablet market will witness stiff competition from Chromebooks and entry level Android notebooks such as the JioBook in the manifesto deals. With aggressive pricing, wider screens, keyboards, and 4G connectivity, the prospect of these entry-level notebooks in education deals looks positive,” said Navkendar Singh, associate vice president, Devices Research, IDC India.

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