23 Tablet Statistics That Are Pretty Surprising (2024)


Tablet Statistics

Tablets have come a long way in the last few years. From the first tablet, which was developed by Alan Kay back in 1968 (fun fact: he called it a “Dynabook”), to the most recent iPad Pro and Microsoft Surface Go, tablets have become an indispensable device for many people around the world.

Tablets are a hugely popular and growing segment of the tech market. Given the popularity of tablets, we thought we’d compile some stats to help you understand how they’re used and who’s using them! We’ve rounded up the most interesting and relevant stats for the past several months to help you stay informed on our favorite gadget.

In this blog post, we go over some hard stats on the tablet market and usage, including:

  • The number of tablets sold in a year
  • The current tablet market size
  • The most popular brand of tablet in the world
  • How many people own a tablet

Check them out below!

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Tablet Statistics (Editor’s Choice)

There are plenty of vital tablet statistics that reveal the popularity of these portable devices. Tablets seem to have started strong, but they have somewhat lost their attractiveness on a global level.

Below, we handpicked the essential stats about tablet devices.

  • The global tablet market share in March 2022 was only 2.4%.
  • The global tablet market was worth nearly $70 billion in 2021.
  • Between 2017 and 2022, the tablet market share dropped by over 50% globally.
  • US tablet ownership peaked in 2017 at 56%.
  • Over 158 million tablet units were shipped in 2021.
  • 51.9% of the tablet devices on the market run on Android.
  • Americans are expected to spend $64.06 billion on tablets in 2022.
  • There were 1.28 billion tablet users worldwide in 2021.
  • Millennials and Generation Xers love tablet devices the most.

Many of the figures reveal a worrisome trend for tablet devices, but they also highlight the strongest markets for such products. If you’d like to learn more and get even more insights about tablets, we’ve got you covered in the article below!

 

Global Tablet Market Statistics

1. The global tablet market was valued at nearly $70 billion in 2021.

Globe Newswire reported that the market size of tablet devices was $61.63 billion in 2020. The segment grew by a CAGR of 13.5% and reached $69.9 billion in 2021.

According to the research center’s forecasts, the tablet market size should surpass the $100 billion mark by 2025. That year, the expected market value was set at $104.53 billion.

(Globe Newswire)

 

2. The number of tablet users globally has nearly doubled between 2013 and 2021.

Statista analysis reveals that 1.28 billion people (16.2% of the world’s population) used tablets in 2021. This figure has nearly doubled or increased by 93.93% since 2013. The number of tablet users globally at the time was about 0.66 billion.

This figure has been growing year over year. However, it seems that the current growth tempo is not that significant. So, the upwards trend may soon change.

(Statista)

 

3. Global tablet shipments were right under 160 million units in 2021.

According to Canalys figures focused on global shipments of PCs and tablets, companies delivered nearly 160 million tablet units in 2021. The exact figure is 158,299,000, and it’s lower than the 160,856,000 delivered in 2020. The annual decrease in tablet shipments worldwide between 2020 and 2021 was 1.6%

(Canalys)

 

4. North America gets most of the tablet shipments globally.

According to the latest Statista figures, North America gets the most tablet shipments worldwide (22%). Another large share of 21% goes to Western Europe and 14% to the greater China region, which is identical to the percentage that goes to the Middle East and Africa.

Mature Asia Pacific and Latin America get 8% each, whereas the remaining 7%, 4%, and 2% go to the Emerging Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia.

(Statista)

 

5. Apple was the most popular tablet manufacturer in 2021.

Apple delivered over 61 million tablets and held 38.6% of the global tablet market share. It was followed, yet not closely, by Samsung and Lenovo. These companies sold 30.09 and 17.46 million tablet units, respectively. Their market shares were 19% and 11%.

Amazon and Huawei were the other most popular tablet manufacturers. They boasted 13.29 million and 9.18 million sales, representing 8.4% and 5.8% market share respectively.

Other unnamed manufacturers stood behind the remaining 27.20 million units and held the remaining 17.2% share of the market.

(Canalys)

 

6. More than half of the tablets on the market run on Android.

It’s interesting to note that even though Apple has sold the most tablets, Android remains the most commonly used tablet operating system. More precisely, 51.9% of the tablets on the market in 2021 had this operating system.

That makes sense as other manufacturers like Samsung and Lenovo sell Android tablets. iOS and Windows were the two other operating systems that dominated the tablet market.

(Statista)

 

7. About $64.06 billion will be spent on tablet devices in 2022.

While not as popular as mobile devices, tablets are still a significant driver of the m-commerce revolution. In fact, based on Insider Intelligence projections, Americans will spend over $64 billion on such products.

(Insider Intelligence)

 

8. Tablet ownership in the United States peaked in 2017.

According to CivicScience research, the American tablet ownership rate peaked in 2017. That year, the ownership rate reached 56% after it had been steadily increasing in 2015 and 2016. However, it decreased in the upcoming months and dropped to 54% in 2018.

(CivicScience)

 

9. High-income families are more likely to own a tablet.

It seems that tablet ownership has some correlation to family income. When CivicScience compared the numbers, they discovered that high-income households reported higher tablet device ownership rates.

For instance, those households with income before taxes of $50,000 or less and $50,000-100,000 had tablet ownership rates of 46% and 57%, respectively. By contrast, 65% of families with income between $100,000 and $150,000 claimed to own a tablet. Finally, the rate goes up to 66% among households making $150,000 or more.

(CivicScience)

 

10. Frequent tablet use may lead to the infamous iPad neck.

Tablets are convenient as they are typically bigger than smartphones and are often equally good as laptops. At least when it comes to casual use. Yet, frequently looking at your tablet screen may lead to the so-called iPad neck. This is persistent pain in the neck and upper shoulders. It results directly from slouching and being in similar unfavorable positions for your neck and shoulders.

According to research by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the iPad neck plagues women more than men. In fact, 70% of the female study participants reported experiencing symptoms of the iPad neck compared to only less than 30% of the male participants. However, the study also revealed that women are likely to use tablet devices while sitting on the floor. This was reported by 77% of the women and only 23% of the men.

Posture, not screen time is the biggest factor behind neck and shoulder pain.

As for the symptoms of the iPad neck, they mostly appear in the form of moderate discomfort (55%). For 1 out of 10 participants, the discomfort was severe, and for 15%, their sleep was affected by the iPad neck.

(ScienceDaily)

 

11. Tablet shopping is less frequent than mobile and PC shopping.

A 2017 study focused on the shopping habits of global consumers has shown that tablets are actually the least popular option. When it comes to daily shopping, only 2% responded that they are shopping more frequently with their tablet, compared to 3% for mobile and PC shopping each.

The situation was a bit different when it came to weekly shopping. Here, 9% preferred shopping via a tablet device, compared to 11% and 16% who have chosen mobile and PC devices.

The same research also offers insights on the usage of shopping channels over time, tablets included. It’s interesting to note that tablet usage has been slowly growing, and mobile usage has seen a rapid increase year over year.

On the other hand, PC shopping has been declining, whereas in-store shopping slightly dropped in 2015, only to become more popular in the upcoming years.

(Pew Research Center)

 

12. People mostly use tablets to watch movies and send emails.

For 23% and 22% of tablet users, this device is used for watching movies and videos online as well as for sending emails. Other popular tablet activities include using social media (19%), reading the news (19%), and online shopping (18%).

Downloading applications, listening to music, instant messaging and video calling, and sharing content was a common activity performed on a tablet for 16%, 12%, 12%, and 11% of the consumers.

Online banking and online gaming were also chosen as common activities by 11%, whereas other options like using online payment systems, visiting dating apps, and online gambling all got 10% or less percent of the votes.

(Statista)

 

13. Global users spend an average of nearly $90 billion on online shopping via tablet devices.

As of the Q3 of 2020, the average amount of money spent on online shopping using tablets was $87.18 billion. Surprisingly, this average is higher than the $84.69 billion spent globally on mobile shopping.

When it comes to shopping via the internet, however, it seems that desktop devices overpower both tablets and smartphones with average spending of $120.51 billion.

The category “Other” boasted the highest average of $120.73 billion and includes laptops and other devices not included in these three main categories.

(Statista)

 

14. The average tablet session in the United States was 7.42 minutes.

In September 2019, Americans spent an average tablet session of 7.42 minutes. In October 2018, the average session was 7.64 minutes, whereas, in October 2016, it was 5.2 minutes. These figures show that there’s been a rise in the time Americans spent on tablet devices a few years back.

That trend has been taking a turn for the worse (not for users’ health, though) as the latest figures are lower than several ones recorded previously. For example, the average tablet session duration was higher at 7.5 minutes in February 2018 as well as in July 2018, when it was 7.64 minutes.

(Statista)

 

Tablet Market Share Statistics

15. Less than 3% of the market share belongs to tablet use.

According to the latest data by StatCounter, only 2.4% of the global market share is contributed to tablets. It seems that mobile use has overpowered both desktops and tablets as more than half the population goes for this type of device.

In fact, the market share of mobile use is 56.45%, and the desktop market share is 41.15%. These figures show that tablets aren’t really commonly used.

(StatCounter)

 

16. The tablet global market share is slowly dropping.

In March 2021, the global tablet market share was 2.85%. In the year ahead, the figure has been slowly decreasing. In July 2021, for example, it dropped to 2.75%, and by December, it was at 2.49%.

The downwards trend has continued in the following months, as well. In January and February 2022, it went first to 2.47% and then to 2.43%, only to reach the current low point of 2.4% in March 2022.

But how about the past several years? If we focus on the tablet market share in 2020, we could see that it reaches its highest point of 3% in May.

Aside from it, it essentially moved between 2.6% and 2.8%. In March 2019, 2018, and 2017 the global tablet market share was 3.98%, 4.18%, and 4.88%. Meaning, that in the past five years, the market share of tablets went from 4.88% to 2.4%, or decreased by 50.81%.

(StatCounter)

 

17. Oceania is the continent with the highest tablet market share by region.

Oceania boasted a considerable tablet market share of 6.36% in March 2021, which dropped to 4.21% in the next 12 months. The mobile market share across Oceania was 36.34%, leaving more than half of the market (59.45%) for desktops. The region topped the list of top-three areas where tablets are used the most with such a market share. North America and Europe follow it.

North Americans seem to love tablets pretty much, as the device’s market share across the continent was 3.13% in March 2022. Still, there’s a downwards trend here, as well, considering the March 2021 share of tablet devices was 3.82%. It’s interesting to note that desktop devices had a slight advantage in North America, with a market share of 48.58% compared to the 48.29% market share of mobile devices.

In Europe, the tablet market share is a bit higher compared to the rest of the global figures. Tablet devices hold 2.68% of the market share on this continent, but this figure is still down from the 3.33% recorded in March 2021. As for the market share of mobile and desktop devices, it was at 49.7% and 47.62%, respectively.

(StatCounter)

 

18. South America is the region with the lowest market share of tablet devices.

In Asia, the market share of tablets was 2.08% in March 2021 and dropped slightly to 2.02% in the next 12 months. Again, mobile devices had the largest market share of over two-thirds in fact. The mobile market share in Asia in March 2022 was an impressive 65.32% compared to the 32.66% market share of desktops.

In Africa, the tablet market share dropped from 2.71% in March 2021 to 1.57% in March 2022. Mobile held the highest market share on the continent at 58.33%, while desktops held 40.1%.

When it comes to tablet use, South Americans don’t seem impressed with these portable devices. In March 2022, the market share of tablets throughout the continent was only 0.86%. Mobile is the king among South American consumers with 58.39% market share, much higher than the market share of desktops of 40.76%.

(StatCounter)

 

Tablet Usage Statistics by Generation

19. Less than one-third (30%) of Gen Zers own a tablet.

It makes sense that consumers from younger generations are more likely to own a tablet. After all, 7 in 10 of them said that a mobile device is the most important device for going online.

Gen Zers also spend an average of 3 hours and 38 minutes on their mobile devices, which is about 50 minutes longer than the average. So, you may be surprised to discover that the share of Generation Z consumers who own a tablet device was 30% in 2017.

(GlobalWebIndex)

 

20. The share of Millennials who own a table has been increasing.

According to the data by Pew Research Center, most Millennials enjoy using tablet devices.

The figures show that in 2013 only about a third (34%) of adults from this generation owned these portable devices. There’s been an upwards trend in the years to come. In 2018 and 2019, the share of Millennials who own a tablet computer reached respective 54% and 55%.

(Pew Research Center)

 

21. More than half of Gen X adults own a tablet computer.

If the Pew Research Center numbers are compared, it seems that tablets are the most popular among Millennials and Gen Xers. We already covered the trends for the first ones, so let’s see the situation for the latter.

Namely, in 2013, 45% of adults from Generation X owned a tablet. This share had significantly increased by 2018 and reached 64%. In the next 12 months, the percentage of Gen Xers who own a tablet computer decreased to 53%. This change reveals that the tablet device is losing popularity among consumers of this generation.

(Pew Research Center)

 

22. Tablet use among Boomers has steadied recently.

Pew Research Center data reveals that in 2013 31% of Boomer adults owned a tablet computer. In the upcoming years, this share has increased and reached 52% by 2018. However, it seems that the trend has steadied recently and there wasn’t a change in the figure the following year.

(Pew Research Center)

 

23. Only one-third of Silent Generation consumers own a tablet device.

Unsurprisingly, consumers from the Silent Generation aren’t all that into tablets. However, there’s still an interesting trend here since the share of people who own has been growing over the years. So, in 2013 only 17% of Silent Generation users had such a device. This device has increased to 25% in 2018 and 33% in 2019.

(Pew Research Center)

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, tablets are increasingly popular gadgets. Among users, the iPad is the most popular brand. The average age of a tablet user is 34 years old, and many use their tablet for work purposes. Tablets are also very popular in the education space, with nearly half of students using a tablet instead of a laptop or desktop computer. The next most common uses for tablets are social networking and reading ebooks.

So there’s no doubt about it: tablets are here to stay. They are a way for us to express ourselves, get work done on the go, and share our lives with others in meaningful ways.

Now that we’re caught up on all the tablet statistics that are fit to print, I hope you’re feeling refreshed and ready to take on the rest of your day. But what do you think? Is the tablet market due for another shake-up like the iPad did in 2010? Will they continue to be popular, or are they going to go the way of other once-beloved gadgets like pagers and flip phones? Let us know your thoughts!

Thanks for making it this far. We hope you found some useful information to help you with your tablet-related endeavors.

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