Increased Australian tablet uptake driven by high-end devices: Telsyte
Australian tablet sales grew 4 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2016 to 1.59 million thanks to more high-end devices entering the market, according to a study by analyst firm Telsyte.
The Telsyte Australian Media Tablet Market Study 2016-2020 revealed that the market for tablets in Australia recorded half-on-half growth for the first time since 2014, driven by an increasing adoption of convertible 2-in-1 tablet-notebook devices such as Apple's iPad Pro, Microsoft's Surface tablets, and Samsung's Galaxy TabPro S.
The report showed that revenue for H1 2016 was up 33 percent on H1 2015, and is now the highest it has been since H1 2014's market slump.
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"The decline in tablet sales that began in 2014 has stabilised and the market seems to have turned a corner," Telsyte Managing Director, Foad Fadaghi, said.
Telsyte also said that the market is now on track to record tablet sales of 3.21 million units by the end of the year.
The top four vendors in the Australian tablet market in H1 2016 were Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, and Lenovo, which all accounted for 80 percent of sales. Telsyte believes that Apple will stay as the market leader for the next two years at least, with the Californian giant currently experiencing a repeat purchase intention rate of 80 percent.
In terms of market share, 21 percent of media tablet sales were Windows-based devices, 35 percent were Andriod-based, and 44 percent used iOS, with Telsyte expecting sales of Windows-based tablets to exceed Android-based units within the next 18 months.
The firm added that tablet sales could also be affected by the recall of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7.
Telsyte's figures show that 15.1 million Australians now have access to a tablet device, almost two thirds across all age groups.
The firm last year predicted that an increased interest in wearable devices had impacted Australian tablet sales, and that wearables such as Microsoft's HoloLens and Samsung's Gear VR would challenge the role of tablets in a connected-home environment.
Globally, worldwide shipment of tablets declined for the seventh straight quarter in August, with Andriod continuing to dominate the market, according to research firm IDC.