Global tablet shipments are expected to move at full throttle to reach a level not seen in recent years in the third quarter of 2020 after seeing such shipments shoot up 60.5% sequentially and 21.3% on year to 39.65 million units a quarter earlier, according to Digitimes Research.
Factors including sufficient production capacities available at ODMs, rush orders that are deferred from the second quarter to third, and re-stocking demand from channel operators will help drive shipment momentum for the third quarter.
Looking back to the second quarter, Apple remained the top vendor, followed by Samsung Electronics and Huawei. Amazon outraced Lenovo to take fourth palce and could become number three in the third quarter thanks to seasonal effects.
In terms of product size, 10-inch and above models accounted for 80% of total tablet shipments in the second quarter, with the ratio of 7-inch ones being reduced further, Digitimes Reseach figures show. The proportion of 7.x-8.x-inch models is expected to edge up by 2pp in the third quarter due to increased shipments of smaller-size products by Amazon.
As the sequential growth for Apple's iPad devices, which feature GF2 touch solutions, was higher than that of non-Apple products, the ratio of tablets that come with GF2 touch edged up in the second quarter. However, models featuring GFF touch solutions will gain a larger share in the third quarter as tablets coming from Amazon will mostly be based on GFF touch.
Shipments from Foxconn Electronics alone accounted for over 50% Taiwan's ODM tablet shipments in the second quarter thanks to a ramp-up in its shipments of iPad mini and iPad Air 3 products.