Worldwide shipments of tablet computers for the second quarter of this year are expected to fall about 10 percent from a year earlier due to weakness in global demand, according to Taipei-based Digitimes Research.
In a research note, the firm said that global tablet shipments for the second quarter could drop to 49.3 million units, down from 54.9 million units recorded over the same period of last year. The second-quarter figure is likely to rise only 0.2 percent from the first quarter, Digitimes Research said.
Taiwanese suppliers cannot escape the downturn of the global tablet market and shipments from Taiwan for the period from last month to next month are likely to fall to a new low of 14.52 million units.
While Taiwanese tablet brands could suffer weaker global demand, local contract manufacturers are likely to face downward shipment pressure in the current quarter, Digitimes Research said.
Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團), which assembles iPads for Apple Inc, in particular, is expected to see its shipments fall more significantly due to a possible drop in demand for iPads, the research firm said.
According to Digitimes Research, iPad shipments for the second quarter are likely to fall 30 percent from a year earlier to 9.8 million units due to the slow-season effect.
The anticipated fall in iPad shipments also reflects a trend in which many consumers have been shifting their attention to the Apple Watch, which hit store shelves last month, and turning their backs on Apple tablets, Digitimes Research said.
In the non-Apple camp, international tablet brands are expected to see their shipments reach 19.11 million units in the second quarter, little changed from a quarter earlier, but up slightly from a year earlier as South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co aims to boost its shipments in the second quarter, the research firm said.
China’s Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) is expected to ship more tablets in the second quarter, as the brand has unveiled budget models equipped with chips designed by Taiwan’s MediaTek Inc (聯發科), Digitimes Research said.
Shipments of unbranded suppliers for the second quarter could reach 20.40 million units, up 13.3 percent from the first quarter, but down about 10 percent from a year earlier, the research firm said.
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