Korea IDC announces domestic tablet market shipments of 2.393 million units
Continued tablet adoption as a language and private education learning support device

Why is the domestic tablet market growing contrary to the global market trend?

According to recent research from Korea IDC (CEO Hong Yoo-sook), 2016 tablet shipments in the domestic market reached 2.393 million units, a 19.6% increase compared to 2.001 million units in the previous year. This contrasts with the global tablet market, which declined 15.6% from 207 million units in 2015 to 175 million units in 2016, drawing attention to the factors behind the sustained growth of the domestic tablet market.

The domestic tablet market has solidified its purpose and formed a key segment by maximizing learning effectiveness through tablets in the specialized private education market. While slate tablets are losing market relevance in the global market, in Korea, tablet-linked educational methods that began to be introduced in the latter half of 2014 were formally adopted starting in 2015, expanding consumption across various learning fields.


▲LG Electronics' 'G Pad III 10.1 FHD LTE' launched in December

The analysis indicates that the creation of strong demand through audiovisual content and advanced and expanded educational methods, which implement optimal learning environments, allow learners to acquire educational benefits, and significantly improve consumer perception through word-of-mouth and promotion, continued in 2016.

Beyond the education market, diverse examples of tablets being utilized to enhance operational efficiency have recently emerged in the financial, manufacturing, and service sectors. Tablets can be conveniently used at customer touchpoints, enable cost savings and environmental protection through paperless operations, and prevent unauthorized disclosure and loss of customer information, leading to integration and application across various business areas. In fact, enterprise tablet shipments outside the education sector have been steadily increasing, reaching 11% of the total tablet market in 2016.


▲Domestic tablet shipments, 2014-2016 (thousand units)


▲Domestic slate tablet and detachable tablet shipments, 2016 (thousand units)

Meanwhile, traditional PC and smartphone manufacturers are also expanding their product portfolios and introducing detachable tablets with removable keyboards in addition to slate tablets. In 2016, domestic detachable tablet shipments reached 387,000 units, more than doubling year-over-year and capturing 16.2% of the total tablet market. Detachable tablets are being compared in price and performance to convertible notebooks and even ultraslim notebooks, with market expansion underway.

Recent advances in OS and hardware have enabled tablets to perform identical tasks to PCs while providing superior mobility, differentiating them on these fronts. In 2017, consumers' options are expected to expand with an even greater variety of products.

Kim Ae-ri, Senior Research Manager at Korea IDC, stated, "The domestic tablet market has currently established its identity through specialization in the education market and is leading the sector, but in the future, tablets are expected to converge with other devices and combine with industry and personal solutions emerging from IoT, AI, and AR/VR, with their usability being re-established within an integrated ecosystem."