IDC: Huawei Toppled Apple From China's Tablet Market Top Spot in First Quarter

Apple lost its top spot to Huawei in the Chinese tablet market in the first quarter of 2020 as the health crisis battered local sales, according to a new report today (via South China Morning Post).

China's tablet shipments plunged 30 per cent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, based on data from research firm IDC. Huawei was the only brand to see positive year-on-year growth, up 4.3 per cent in the quarter ended March 31 to 1.5 million units.

The Chinese electronics giant's success saw it topple Apple as the top tablet brand for the quarter, with a 40.2 percent share of China's market compared to 31.5 percent for Apple.

Xiaomi, Microsoft and Lenovo all saw their sales slump in the same quarter, according to IDC, accounting for 5.5 percent, 3.2 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

In March, Nikkei reported that iPad stocks were running low in China because parents were buying them to help with e-learning at home in response to school closures. Local labor shortages had also reportedly seen suppliers struggle to meet production demands, amid government-imposed lockdown restrictions.

Typically that would be positive news for Apple, but with suppliers severely affected by the global health crisis, the company was unable to keep ‌‌iPad‌‌ stocks plentiful to meet the increased demand.