Tablet shipments continue to decline. Apple remains the leader in a dying market.

Tablets are in a weird spot right now. Once hailed as the successors to laptops, tablets have not managed to live up to most people’s expectations. Barring a small period of growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, the tablet market has been in a decline for quite some time now.

A recent report by Canalys proves that the downward trend is set to continue. According to the data, tablet shipments have suffered a fall for the 4th consecutive quarter in row. The decrease is 11% on a yearly basis.

For reference, laptops and chromebooks are in a similar situation. The likeliest reasons cited by the report for the negative trend are the rising global inflation, lockdowns in China due to COVID-19 outbreaks and an overall fall in education spending.

Tablets in particular have found a home in education, which can account for the increase in sales in the period of online learning that COVID-19 brought about. However, because tablets are not frequently replaced, and because students throughout the world are spending less time in front of screens and more in the classroom, the form factor’s 5 minutes of fame might be behind it.

A closer look at the tablet market shows that its structure has remained more or less unchanged. Apple remains the undisputed leader with a market share of nearly 35%. The Cupertino company has suffered a decline in shipments of about 15%, but its place on top remains unchallenged.

Samsung trails behind Apple with a market share of 20%, and a similar level of negative net growth (-13%). Lenovo is the last manufacturer with a double-digit market share (10.1%). Amazon is the only company in the list to actually experience a growth in sales (+6.3%).

These numbers are largely unsurprising. The tablet market is in need of a miracle, if something is to change. Odds are one will not come with Apple’s latest iPads, set to launch this fall.