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Apple, followed by Samsung, led the global tablet market in the first quarter of 2023, together making up nearly 58 per cent of the market even with the changing landscape post-pandemic, a report has shown.

Apple shipped 10.8 tablets with 35.2 per cent share in Q1, followed by Samsung at 23.1 per cent share and shipping 7.1 million units.

Huawei was third with 6.6 per cent share (2 million units), according to preliminary data from from the International Data Corporation (IDC).

Worldwide tablet shipments posted decline of 19.1 per cent (year-over-year) in the first quarter of 2023, reaching 30.7 million units.

The low shipment volume is now comparable to pre-pandemic levels. Shipment volume in 1Q23 was comparable to the 30.1 million units shipped in Q1 2019 and 31.6 million in Q1 2018.

"Tablet vendors entered the first quarter of 2023 with caution. As expected, both commercial and consumer volumes were low as macro environment remained uncertain throughout Q1," said Anuroopa Nataraj, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.

According to the report, sell-in shipment in the first half of 2023 is expected to be low, with vendors focusing on clearing out their inventory before the launch of newer models.

Chromebook shipments also continued to contract in Q1 with shipments totalling 3.8 million units for a year-over-year decline of 31 per cent year over year.

"Despite the downturn in tablet shipments, there's some reason for optimism as more vendors are paying attention to the space," said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager.

"OnePlus' recent launch and the upcoming Pixel Tablet from Google are clear signs that there's appetite from the supply side," he added.