India Tablet Market Records 38% Growth in 3Q CY2017 Owing to Government and Corporate Demand

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  • Total Tablet shipments stood at 0.94 million, in 3Q CY2017.
  • 4G Tablet shipments grew by 40% during the quarter. 
  • Price band INR 5-10K clocks 160% sequential increase in 3Q CY2017.

New Delhi/Gurugram, 27 November: According to CMR’s India Quarterly Tablet PC Market Review- In 3Q CY2017, 0.94 million Tablets were shipped in India, recording 38% growth over the previous quarter. However, Tablet PC market recorded 4% YoY decline.

“Over the period of time Tablet PCs are finding improved adoption in Corporate as well as Government segment. Education was the key segment for B2B sales which has been driving force behind the growth in 3Q 2017. Tablet PC in consumer space are sidelined by Phablets (Mobiles with 5.5” & above screen size) due lack of product differentiation and compelling use cases.  ” stated Narinder Kumar, Lead Analyst, CMR.

Lenovo contributed 20.3% market share in the overall tablet market and witnessed 94% growth in 3Q CY2017 when compared to 2Q CY2017 in terms of unit shipments. Acer captured the second spot with 16% market share followed by Datawind with 15.5% market share during this period in terms of unit shipments.

Lenovo’s growth in 3Q CY2017 was primarily because of plan of distribution of its Tablets towards NAMO E-Tab Tablet Sahay Yojana under the Gujarat government in august 2017. A considerable amount of growth came from the corporates also as they ramp up their digital transformation and customer experience initiatives and enable employees on the go with tablets. Lenovo’s tablet model Tab3 7 inch was the highest contributor with 13% market share in overall tablet market in terms of unit Shipments.

Technology Trends

In terms of unit shipments, 4G, 3G & Wi-Fi based tablets witnessed a QoQ growth of 53%, 44% & 22% respectively in 3Q CY2017, whereas 2G based tablets witnessed a decline of 15% in 3Q CY2017 from the previous quarter.

In terms of OS, Android continued to be the top OS choice with 92% market share due to the increasing availability of affordable Android-based tablets in the market. The Android market grew 43% from the last quarter, while iOS grew only 5% and its market share remained steady at 8% similar to the last quarter.

The Tablet market within the price range of INR 5-10K witnessed a huge growth of 160% than the tablets in the price range of INR 10-20K and INR 20-30K which saw 18% and 59% QoQ growth respectively in 3Q CY2017. Recently Gujarat government has distributed Acer tablets among the 1st year college students which has contributed to the growth of INR 5-10K tablets. On the other hand, the price category of less than INR 5K witnessed sharp sequential decline of 27% in 3Q CY2017.


Future Outlook

The ongoing digitization programmes of the government involves pushing educational institutes to adapt newer technologies will continue to boost the tablet market to a great extent. A strong demand will also come from the B2B segments due to the digital transformation initiatives of businesses, while consumer demand entirely depends on the promotional activities and some exciting features. Menka Kumari, Analyst at CMR, said, “With the cost of 4G data going down, the demands for 4G devices will significantly increase in the coming quarters, this will increase the affordability of 4G tablets. Hence the demand for low-cost tablets is likely to grow significantly in the coming year also.”

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