In-person classes slash demand for tablets

The demand for tablet devices, which were selling like hotcakes at the height of the pandemic, has slowed down recently with the return of in-person classes, according to International Data Corp. (IDC).

The IDC Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker showed the local tablet market’s shipments dropped by 11.6 percent in the third quarter vis-a-vis the previous quarter and nearly flat on an annual basis.

Samsung took the lead with a 43.5-percent market share, followed by realme with 13.9 percent and Cherry Mobile with 11.2 percent. Huawei and Lenovo occupied 8.6 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively, while the remaining 16.4 percent were accounted for by other brands.

“The education segment has been the driver for the tablet market’s growth since blended learning was implemented among schools in the Philippines,” IDC Philippines senior market analyst Angela Medez said.

But the local tablet market saw a decline with the return of face-to-face classes ordered by the Department of Education (DepEd) in August, IDC said, adding that the slowdown could persist up to next year.

“With the DepEd’s mandatory in-person classes for public schools beginning in November as well as global headwinds hurting consumers, we anticipate the tablet market to decline in 2023,” Medez said.

“Even though more Chinese vendors have turned up in the tablet space and sparked competition, we don’t expect them to offset the slowdown of the overall tablet market,” she added.

IDC previously shared the same outlook for the smartphone market as rising inflation was expected to discourage spending.