India’s tablet market expanded 8.2 per cent last year as total shipments reached 3.8 million units, according to IDC.
But the market suffered a year-on-year decline of 10 per cent in Q4, with just 860,000 million units shipped.
The market last year, recovering from a sharp dip in 2014, was driven by a spike in detachables shipments starting in Q2.
“The majority of detachables shipped were in the $200-$300 price band, primarily driven by local vendors Micromax and iBall,” said J Karthik, a senior market analyst for IDC India. On the premium end, he said, Samsung continued to dominate, but competition is likely to get intense with Apple entering the market with iPad Pro and Microsoft Surface Pro joining this quarter.
Datawind, which almost doubled shipments, saw its share increase to 20.7 per cent (see chart below, click to enlarge), giving it the number one spot. Samsung took second place with a 15.8 per cent share, as shipments fell 8.7 per cent in Q4 from the previous quarter. Micromax, which focused on detachables, was third with a 15.5 per cent share.
Lenovo, the only PC maker in the top five, expanded its share to 13.8 per cent after increasing shipments 58 per cent last year. iBall managed to stay in the top five with a 10 per cent share, despite a 45 per cent sequential decline in shipments in Q4.
Both Windows and Intel gained share in 2015 mainly through local vendors in addition to Acer and Lenovo. Windows-based tablet shipments more than tripled last year.
IDC expects marginal growth this year as consumer demand for tablets hits saturation. However, it expects the commercial segment to see double-digit growth.
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