Mainland China's Tablet Market Posted 8% YoY Growth in Q2 2023

According to the latest report from Canalys, in Q2 2023, the decline in PC shipments to Mainland China showed signs of moderation, dropping 19% year-on-year to 9.6 million units. Desktop (including desktop workstations) and notebook (including mobile workstations) shipments were both down 19%, to 3.0 million and 6.6 million units respectively. Meanwhile, the tablet market enjoyed an 8% year-on-year shipment growth of 6.5 million units, driven by stronger iPad performance compared to a supply-constrained quarter a year ago. 

Mainland China's commercial sector faced a more significant setback, registering a 22% year-on-year PC shipment decline to 4.2 million units in Q2 2023. Shipments to the consumer sector fared slightly better, dropping 16% year-on-year, with total units down to 5.4 million units. 

Canalys expects the PC market recovery in Mainland China to remain challenged, with a forecasted annual decline of 19% for full-year 2023 shipments. 

However, according to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, global PC shipments are forecast to grow 3.7% year over year in 2024 reaching 261.4 million shipments. The road to recovery for personal computers has been challenging coming off explosive years in 2020 and 2021, but signs of growth are finally returning. 

Lenovo topped Mainland China's PC market yet again but experienced a year-on-year shipment decline of 24%. HP and Huawei both experienced year-on-year growth of 6% against a favorable comparison quarter, taking second and third place respectively. Dell posted the largest decline among the major PC vendors with a 52% drop in shipments annually, marking a recent low for its market share in the region. Apple sealed fifth place with 17% year-on-year growth.  

Mainland China's tablet market posted 8% year-on-year growth, primarily due to Apple's strong performance. Android tablets experienced a shipment decline of 5% despite strong discounting from vendors and the retail channel in Q2 2023.   

Apple topped Mainland China's tablet market with 2.3 million units of shipments, achieving 47% year-on-year growth. Apple's growth rate was boosted by a relatively weak comparison quarter due to a significant supply chain disruption it faced in Q2 2022. Huawei secured second place with 19% growth, shipping 1.2 million tablets. Xiaomi was placed third in the market rankings and enjoyed the strongest growth among the major vendors with shipments up 53% following its launch of several new models. Fourth-placed Lenovo saw its tablet shipments decline 44%, amid weak commercial demand for its devices. Honor rounded out the top five with an 8% annual shipment decline.