The Tablet Hype Has Officially Died Down

The tablet hype is officially over. In the fourth quarter of 2014, worldwide tablet shipments declined for the first time since Apple introduced the iPad in 2010. According to numbers released by IDC last week, Apple and its peers shipped 76.1 million units between October and December compared to 78.6 million devices in the previous year’s holiday quarter.

Among the five biggest tablet vendors, Lenovo was the only one that didn’t suffer a double-digit decline in shipments last quarter, mainly thanks to the company’s strong position in the Asia/Pacific market, which isn’t as saturated as markets in North America and Europe are. That is also the reason why vendors outside of the Top 5 continue to grow their combined market share: they mainly serve the lower-price segment outside of mature markets, where there is still room for growth.