The need for a more affordable and portable device to equip students in online learning helped boost the sales of tablets in the Philippines, according to the International Data Corp.’s (IDC) Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.

The Philippine tablet market almost doubled in 2021Q2 compared to last year, growing by 97.9% year-on-year (YoY) and 15.7% QoQ in 2021Q2.

“Tablet shipments continued to be driven by the education sector due to large tenders from several local government units (LGUs) to provide tablets for public school students in preparation for the school year,” said Angela Jenny Medez, Client Devices Market analyst at IDC Philippines. “The surge in shipments during the second half of 2020 as shown in the chart is due to the huge tenders from the bigger LGUs when the 2020-2021 school year began in September of last year.”

IDC forecasts PC, tablet shipments to grow 3.3% in 2020
IDC: PC market forecast to grow by 14.2% in 2021

Tablets remain the device of choice among LGUs because it is a cheaper alternative over laptops and desktops as well as the ability of educational platforms, apps, and productivity tools to run on tablets. Some LGUs with access to internet connections have switched from self-learning modules (SLMs) or printed learning modality to an online/blended learning approach, as it is more cost-effective in comparison to the printout of modules. It also reduces the burden on both parents and teachers who would otherwise need to personally deliver and/or pick up the modules. However, there have also been some schools that have gone the other way around due to connectivity issues.

Samsung

Samsung tops the Philippine market for tablets with 45.4% market share for the second quarter of this year compared to 18.8% market share posting a 378.1% growth. Lenovo follows in second place with 16.4% market share for Q221; Cherry Mobile (9.1%), Huawei and Haier (6.5%) complete the top 5 in terms of market share.

“The tablet market’s performance for the rest of the year will still be driven mainly by the education segment due to procurements from other LGUs, as face-to-face classes have remained suspended until further notice due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases. However, we do not expect the same momentum compared to the previous year, as some local government units prioritize the roll-out of vaccinations. New procurements will be from other cities outside of Metro Manila,” Medez said.