First time in 10 years! Android tablet market share drops below 50% in Q2 - Here's why

Android tablet market share fell below 50 percent for the first time in 10 years, as people seek premium and detachable tablets from Apple, Windows OEMs and, to some extent, Samsung, a new Strategy Analytics report has said.

Tablet demand remains ahead of pre-pandemic levels in the face of inflation and supply constraints.

However, mounting macro-economic pressures, lower consumer sentiment, the evolving threat of Covid, and a prolonged Russia/Ukraine conflict could turn the second half of the year much more challenging.

"The two factors of inflation and hybrid work create an remarkable dynamic where wealthy consumers continue spending on premium devices, while average consumers pull back on spending in lower tiers," said Eric Smith, Director-Connected Computing.

Also, average consumers purchases favour detachable tablets to get work done rather than solely serve entertainment needs.

"All the top vendors now have detachables in their line-ups, spanning implementations on five different operating systems," said Smith.

Apple iPadOS shipments (sell-in) fell 7 percent year-on-year to 14.8 million units in Q2 2022.

Samsung led the Android market with a 13 percent year-on-year decline in Q2 2022 to 7.1 million units.

Lenovo returned to the third ranking globally in Q2 2022, though shipments fell by 25 percent year-on-year to 3.5 million units.

"Android tablet demand pulled down market performance as all other operating systems outpaced the market decline of 15 per cent. Apple benefitted from a wealthier customer base than Android, but supply issues kept them from reaching even more demand than they did during the quarter," said Chirag Upadhyay, industry analyst.