FRAMINGHAM, MA – The worldwide tablet market declined 0.6% year-over-year during the fourth quarter, as global shipments fell to 43.5 million units, according to International Data Corp. For 2019, the tablet market shrank 1.5% year-over-year as global shipments totaled 144 million units.

Apple maintained its lead in the holiday quarter, growing 22.7% year-over-year. The new iPad launched last quarter accounted for nearly 65% of their shipments and helped the company gain share to 36.5% compared to 29.6% last year. As the company's product portfolio is moving toward detachables, slate tablet shipments have been at an all-time low with a 79.3% decline, says IDC.

Samsung regained the second position, despite another year-over-year decline in shipments. The company shipped 7 million units in the quarter. Even with growth across its detachable portfolio, mainly from the Tab S series, the company couldn't offset the decline from its slate tablets.

Huawei shipped 4 million units in the fourth quarter for a year-over-year decline of 2.8%. The decline was relatively mild compared to the overall market, even though the company continues to face pressure from the US. As a result, the majority of Huawei's sales came from Asia/Pacific, in particular China, where it still managed to record some growth. The new MatePad Pro 10.8" boosted growth, but the MediaPad M series continued to account for the bulk of sales in Huawei's detachable portfolio.

Amazon slipped to the fourth position during the quarter, with a decline of 29% year-over-year. Black Friday sales on Fire HD 10, Fire HD 8, and Fire 7 drove unit volume, and the Kids Editions of its tablets managed to account for a substantial portion of overall sales. The retail giant, which is now ranked second in slate tablet shipments (Samsung is first), is slowly expanding to additional markets, but this has not been enough to offset the decline in the US.

Lenovo was one of two companies in the top five that recorded year-over-year growth in shipments. Its share slightly increased from 5.3% in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 5.8% in the same period of 2019. Their slate shipments continued to record growth in the holiday quarter. With the majority of the company's sales in the low-priced tablet segment, its best market performance continues to be in Asia/Pacific followed by Europe.

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