"Will the second half see fallout?" Tablet growth continues for 5 consecutive quarters... Semiconductor supply shortage concerns grow

Apple's tablet, the iPad Pro
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] "The semiconductor shortage mainly affected the supply of Mac and iPad." "It could impact iPhone and iPad sales in the third quarter." (Tim Cook, Apple CEO)

The global tablet market, which has been growing since the COVID-19 pandemic, is now facing the full impact of the semiconductor crisis. Although the global tablet market has grown for five consecutive quarters, the growth rate has slowed due to supply shortages. This aligns with the supply concerns recently expressed by Apple CEO Tim Cook, whose company holds the number one market share in the tablet market.

According to market research firm Strategy Analytics (SA) on the 29th (local time), global tablet shipments in the second quarter reached 45.2 million units, a 5% increase compared to the previous year.

By manufacturer, Apple shipped 15.8 million units, securing first place with a 35% market share, up 1.5 percentage points from the same period last year. Samsung Electronics followed in second place with 8.2 million tablets shipped in the second quarter, increasing its market share by 2.1 percentage points to 18% compared to a year ago. Lenovo ranked third (10%, 4.7 million units), Amazon fourth (9%, 4.2 million units), and Huawei fifth (5%, 2.1 million units).

Except for Huawei, the top four manufacturers showed double-digit growth driven by the shift to untact services and demand for remote learning after the pandemic. Huawei, under U.S. government sanctions, saw its market share shrink by 6.7 percentage points to 5% compared to a year ago.

SA noted in this report that although the tablet market recorded growth for five consecutive quarters, it was constrained by supply limitations. Questions are being raised about the impact of supply shortages on the tablet market in the second half of the year.

Eric Smith, SA director, said, "Supply constraints have started to affect the tablet market faster than expected, resulting in almost no change in tablet shipments compared to the first quarter," and predicted, "The scale of supply shortages will increase for the remainder of this year."

CEO Cook also expressed concerns about semiconductor shortages possibly starting in the third quarter and rising shipping costs. In a recent interview with CNBC following the second-quarter earnings announcement, he expressed regret that better results could have been achieved without the semiconductor shortage. He also warned that semiconductor supply constraints could affect iPhone and iPad sales in the third quarter.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.