Market analysis firm IDC has released a new report on the state of the tablet market in Western Europe in the first quarter of 2017. The tablet market in this region posted a contraction of 1.7 percent year-over-year in the period under review. A total of 7.1 million units were shipped with the recovery in sales of Android tablets being the main driver of sales.
Samsung was one of the few major OEMs that posted year-over-year growth in the first quarter of this year. Not only did Samsung post growth, the company's tablets also pushed down the iPad to second place and made Samsung the top tablet vendor in Western Europe in the first quarter of 2017.
Data shows that Samsung shipped 1.89 million tablets in the first quarter of this year compared to 1.6 million units in the same period last year. It now accounts for 26.5 percent of the tablet market share in Western Europe, registering a 17.9 percent year-over-year growth.
On the other hand, Apple shipped 1.54 million units of the iPad compared to 1.74 million units in the same period last year. It now accounts for 21.7 percent of the tablet market in Western Europe and has seen a year-over-year decline of 11.5 percent.
The report does point out a key factor, that the iPads account for almost 50 percent of all tablets priced above €600. This means that customers in Western Europe who want to buy a premium tablet are more likely to pick up an iPad than any other tablet.
