India is one of the most important markets in the world, when it comes to phone and tablet sales. They’re not only a populous nation, but also one on the up and up, so there’s growth potential galore. For tablets, though the future is not that bright. In Q1 2017 for example sales of tablet PCs fell by 16%.
Around 760k units were moved between January and March, on account of lack of promotional activity by device makers, claims a report. The numbers were 6% inferior compared to the Q4 2016 time frame. Datawind remains on the top spot in the first 3 months of the year, with a 34% market share, followed by iBall with 16% and Samsung with 15%.
Micromax has a 8% share and the decline seems to go on. 4G tablets continue to impress and they will stand for 50% of the whole tablet segment by the end of the year. CMR’s “India Quarterly Tablet PC Market Review – 1Q 2017” shows that Android tablets totally dominates the market, while Windows slates are in decline. This pairs with the 4G trend, since Windows slates are known for coming with WiFi only, while Android models come with 4G and affordable prices.
4G and 3G slates increased sequentially by 15% and 31%, in terms of units shipped. 2G and WiFi models declined by 62% and 33% respectively. The biggest sales happened for devices between $150 and $300, while those past $300 and $400 dropped by 61%. I expect these trends to continue throughout the year.
