The tablet market in the Philippines was unaffected by supply disruptions and weak consumer demand, registering robust growth in the opening quarter of 2022 as smartphone vendors entered the market.

Data from IDC showed tablet shipments climbed 34.3 per cent year-on-year to 266 million units.

IDC Philippines market analyst Angela Medez attributed the growth to an expanded line-up of products and forecast the education sector, following a double-digit decline in Q1, to drive the commercial segment for the rest of the year.

“Acknowledging the evolving need of consumers for a range of smart devices while taking advantage of their existing channels in the country, smartphone vendors such as realme, Xiaomi, Nokia and most recently, ASUS, boosted their IoT ecosystems by introducing multiple product lines like tablets,” Medez added.

Samsung boosted its market share to 24.3 per cent from 17.4 per cent in Q1 2021 to take the top position, as shipments jumped 86.9 per cent to 64.6 million units.

Newcomer Realme shipped 60.1 million devices to take a 22.6 per cent share, while Cherry Mobile dropped to third from first, with shipments falling by a third to 48.7 million units. Its share plummeted to 18.3 per cent from 36.9 per cent a year earlier.

Huawei saw shipments rise 68 per cent to 33 million, increasing its share by 3.5 percentage points to 12.4 per cent.

Xiaomi, another new entrant, shipped 18.9 million units for a 7.1 per cent share.

Smartphone shipments in the country during Q1 dropped 7.1 per cent year-on-year to 3.9 million units.