The tablet and PC market has not been growing as tremendously as other areas of the tech industry, and a new research report from Canalys (via 9to5Mac) indicates that the said market has a 1% drop in 2021 in the US, despite a major decline of 28% of the last quarter of 2021. On top of that, it’s the iPad that has dominated the tablet market.
Apple’s iPad dominates a somewhat stagnant tablet market
As many of you may probably know, 2021 and especially the last quarter of the year experienced quite severe supply chain disruptions, and all tech giants were affected, including Apple. Despite chip shortages though, Apple was still able to dominate the tablet market share for the year with more than 19 million shipments of various models of iPads. Currently, some iPad models experience shipment delays of up to nine weeks because of the ongoing chip shortages, and in the fall of last year, Apple reportedly cut iPad production in half to conserve parts for the newly-announced at the time iPhone 13 series. Nevertheless, iPads are still proving to be among the most popular tablets.
Overall, there is a 17% drop in iPad shipments in 2020, when the pandemic had many people seeking tablets and iPads for a more convenient school or work experience. The iPad market share went from 44.6% in Q4 2020 (a period that there was a general rise in the market) down to 40.2% in the last quarter of 2021.
In general, demand for tablets has been decreasing and overall shipments declined 31%.
The research report also shed some light on how the PC market was, and there, Apple was not found to be in a dominating position. Cupertino scored as one of the top five sellers of the year. In general, the PC market has been growing, indicating, according to Canalys Research Analyst Brian Lynch, a long-term potential created by the initial demand at the start of the pandemic.
Apple’s other products have been driving a steady increase in revenue for the company
Despite the tablet market shrinking, last month, Apple reported record-high revenue for the last quarter of 2021 (basically, Apple’s fiscal Q1 2022). Cupertino reported revenue of $123.9 billion for the months from October to December last year, which broke the estimated $118.66 billion from Wall Streat.
This reported revenue was 11% higher than the $111.4 billion recorded during the same period last year.
The iPhone was driving a vast majority of the sales, with, as many of you may know, the announcement of the iPhone 13 series which was during the quarter. Revenue from iPhone sales went to $76.63 billion which surpassed Wall Street’s estimation of $68.34 billion. This pretty much indicated the company had a 9% increase year-over-year.
But it’s not only selling devices that are contributing to the ongoing growth of Apple’s revenue. The company has added 165 million new subscribers in 12 months across its digital services, making the total of its paying subscribers amount to a staggering 785 million.
The 165 million new subs is actually an all-time record number of new subscribers for the company, and it includes subscribers for iCloud, Apple Music, and Apple TV+ (where Apple original series are found).
Luca Maestri, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Apple stated at the time of the report that the growth was worldwide. He indicated that the December quarter records are present in every geographic segment. Additionally, the company’s advertisement and payment services have also experienced some growth. He added that Apple has done better than the company itself was expecting at the beginning of the quarter.
