IDC finds that the refresh cycle of Surface and iPad will keep tablets market alive in the EMEA region

The EMEA tablet market reached 10.9 million units in the third quarter of the year, a drop of 8.2 percent on the same quarter last year, according to data from IDC. The contraction in consumer demand continues to be the main inhibitor of tablet adoption. 

As consumers lack compelling reasons to refresh their devices, life cycles continuously increase, leading to a market slowdown. However, the deployment of tablets in the commercial segments remains healthy, with a 4.2 percent year-on-year increase, due to the larger number of usage scenarios generated by digital transformation.

"In a quarter usually marked by seasonality, where there is a balance between the top two companies, Apple maintained and consolidated its market leadership," said Helena Ferreira, research analyst, IDC Western Europe Personal Computing Devices. "The growing market saturation is driving consolidation, as the top five companies become increasingly dominant, and in developed economies, like in Western Europe, the top five represented more than three-quarters of the market."   

The overall tablet market in Western Europe declined 6.0 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of this year, while and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMA) declined 12.0 percent year-on-year.

"Slate tablet shipments are continuing to drag down overall tablet results in both CEE and MEA, mostly due to the consumer consumption slowdown and significant drops in below-10in. tablets, due to stiff competition from large-screen smartphones," said Nikolina Jurisic, program manager, IDC CEMA.

Apple retained the market leadership in EMEA, ahead of its product refresh cycle. Samsung posted a double-digit decline, as the main focus is on pushing its prosumer S series and driving more profitability. Lenovo regained third position, filling the gap left by Huawei's decline. 

Huawei dropped to fourth and continues to suffer from the impact of the ban on consumer confidence. Amazon remained in the top 5 and continues to dominate the ultra-low-end price ranges, particularly during promotional periods such as Prime Day in the third quarter.

The EMEA tablet market is forecast to decline by 10.2 percent year-on-year in both the fourth quarter and for the whole year 2019. The dynamics affecting the market, particularly in the consumer segment, are expected to persist both in the consumer and in the commercial segments in the coming quarters.

"Despite the decline in total units shipped, the tier A vendors will sustain market value, particularly through the most recent iterations of iPad and Surface," said Daniel Goncalves, senior research analyst, IDC Western Europe Personal Computing Devices. "The new iPad with a first party keyboard and a new operating system designed to enhance productivity features in a tablet environment is expected to generate interest among prosumers and to continue boosting renewals of old tablets. On the other hand, the adoption of Surface Pro as a notebook replacement is expected to continue to thrive and to increasingly drive horizontal deployments in enterprise." 

The commercial market in EMEA is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 4.6 percent between 2019 and 2023.

"In the long run, the commercial segment is expected to grow due to the transition to mobility and growing user case scenarios for deploying tablets into businesses," said Jurisic.

Intel completes sale of its smartphone modem business to iPhone maker Apple

Intel announced on Monday that it has completed the sale of the majority of its smartphone modem business to Apple. This transaction, valued at US$1 billion, was announced in July. 

As previously disclosed, this transaction enables Intel to focus on developing technology for 5G networks while retaining the option to develop modems for non-smartphone applications, such as PCs, internet of things devices and autonomous vehicles.

Intel and Apple have signed an agreement for Apple to acquire the majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business. Approximately 2,200 Intel employees will join Apple, along with intellectual property, equipment and leases. 

Combining the acquired patents for current and future wireless technology with Apple’s existing portfolio, Apple will hold over 17,000 wireless technology patents, ranging from protocols for cellular standards to modem architecture and modem operation. 

Intel will retain the option to develop modems for non-smartphone applications, such as PCs, internet of things devices and autonomous vehicles.

Apple expands Everyone Can Code curriculum to bring more coding resources to teachers and students

Apple unveiled completely redesigned Everyone Can Code curriculum to help introduce more elementary and middle school students to the world of coding. Now available, the new curriculum includes even more resources for teachers, a brand new guide for students and updated Swift Coding Club materials. 

Currently millions of students in more than 5,000 schools worldwide already use Everyone Can Code curriculum to bring their ideas to life and develop important skills including creativity, collaboration and problem solving. Additionally, learners around the world can register for thousands of free Today at Apple coding sessions taking place in December at Apple Stores to learn to write their first lines of code to celebrate Computer Science Education Week.

The Everyone Can Code curriculum builds on existing interactive puzzles, guides and activities to make learning to code even more approachable and connected to students’ everyday lives. Everyone Can Code Puzzles is an all-new student guide to Swift Playgrounds where each chapter helps students build on what they already know, experiment with new coding concepts and creatively communicate how coding impacts their lives. 

A companion teacher guide supports educators in bringing coding into their classrooms with helpful ways to facilitate, deepen and assess student learning. Designed to support all students, the new Everyone Can Code curriculum is optimized for VoiceOver and includes closed-captioned videos and audio descriptions as well as videos in American Sign Language.

The Everyone Can Code curriculum integrates Apple’s Everyone Can Create project guides to help students express what they learn through drawing, music, video and photos. Designed to help unleash kids’ creativity throughout their school day, Everyone Can Create gives teachers fun and meaningful tools to easily fold creativity skills into their existing lesson plans in any subject from coding to chemistry.

From Dec. 1 to Dec. 15, Apple Stores will increase Today at Apple coding sessions to offer thousands of opportunities to celebrate Computer Science Education Week. The free interactive sessions provide opportunities for participants at a variety of skill levels to get started with coding. Sessions help aspiring coders explore block-based coding with robots, while those with more experience can get started using Swift Playgrounds to learn coding concepts or code an augmented reality experience.

Select stores will also offer special sessions for coders of all ages. Preschool-age kids can try creative pre-coding activities in the new Coding Lab with the Helpsters, a team of vibrant monsters who love to solve problems and are featured in the new live-action preschool series, available now on Apple TV+, from the makers of “Sesame Street.” 

Participants of all ages can also learn from Apple Distinguished Educators, Apple Entrepreneur Camp innovators, developers and artists. Customers can register for Code with Apple sessions starting today.

For the seventh year, Apple will also support Hour of Code with a new Hour of Code Facilitator Guide to help educators and parents host sessions using Swift Playgrounds and some of the more than 200,000 educational apps available from the App Store.

For more advanced learners, including high school and college students preparing for the workforce, the Develop in Swift curriculum continues to give students the practical tools and techniques they need to qualify for high-demand and high-skill jobs. 

Develop in Swift is great for students new to coding as well as advancing those with previous experience — and even helps prepare them for a career in programming with a free AP Computer Science Principles course and the opportunity to earn industry recognized certification.

Gartner reports that global smartphone demand weak in third quarter this year, as Apple and Xiaomi find their shares declining

Global sales of smartphones to end users continued to decline in the third quarter of 2019, contracting by 0.4 percent compared with the third quarter of 2018, according to data released Tuesday by analyst firm, Gartner. Demand remained weak as consumers became more concerned about getting value for money.

This shift has led brands such as Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo to strengthen their entry-level and mid-tier portfolios. This strategy helped Huawei, Samsung and OPPO grow in the third quarter of 2019. By contrast, Apple recorded another double-digit decline in sales, year over year.

Huawei was the only one of the top-five global smartphone vendors to achieve double-digit growth in smartphone sales in the third quarter of 2019. The company sold 65.8 million smartphones, an increase of 26%, year over year. Huawei’s performance in China was the key driver of its global smartphone sales growth. It sold 40.5 million smartphones in China and increased its share of the country’s market by almost 15 percentage points.

While the ban on Huawei to access key U.S. technologies is yet to be fully implemented as a three-month extension was just announced, the proposed ban brought negativity around Huawei’ brand in the international market. Nevertheless, Huawei’s strong ecosystem in China continued to show growth. 

The current situation with the U.S. has also fostered patriotism among Huawei’s partners, which are now keener to promote its smartphones in China — a development that makes it difficult for local competitors to compete aggressively against Huawei. Huawei’s long investment in subbrands (Honor and Nova), in multichannel operations (online and retail), and in 5G and other technological innovation forms the basis of its success in China.

Samsung maintained the top position globally in the third quarter of 2019, by increasing its smartphone sales by 7.8 percent, year over year. “Samsung’s aggressive revamp of its portfolio, with a focus on midtier and entry-tier segments, strengthened its competitive position,” said Anshul Gupta, senior research director at Gartner.

Apple’s iPhone sales continued to decline in the third quarter of 2019. Apple sold 40.8 million iPhones, a year-over-year decline of 10.7%. “Although Apple continued its sales promotions and discounts in various markets, this was not enough to stimulate demand globally,” said Gupta. “In the Greater China market sales of iPhones continued to improve, however, it follows a double-digit decline recorded at the beginning of the year. The iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max saw good initial adoption, which suggests that sales may be positive in the remaining quarter.”

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday approaching, smartphone deals are likely to spur consumer demand in the fourth quarter of 2019. Vendors including Google and Samsung are likely to offer aggressive price promotions not just for their older smartphones but also for new devices such as the Google Pixel 4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.

Competition between mobile phone manufacturers will increasingly focus on more intelligent smartphones. These devices will deliver increasingly personalized content and services that draw on users’ contexts and preferences. 

“To deliver relevant personalized experiences, manufacturers will need to improve the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in smartphones and make security capabilities and privacy key aspects of their brands,” said Roberta Cozza, senior research director at Gartner.

At a time of limited technology-led innovation, product managers should focus on offering attractive features at low prices as quickly as possible. By offering better value for money, they can increase demand for smartphones.

“For the majority of smartphone users, desire has shifted away from owning the least expensive smartphone. Today’s smartphone user is opting for midtier smartphones over premium-tier ones because they offer better value for money,” said Gupta. “In addition, while waiting for 5G network coverage to increase to more countries, smartphone users are delaying their purchase decisions until 2020.”

Toshiba expands e-STUDIO MFP line with A3 models, ideal for small-to-medium businesses

Toshiba America Business Solutions expanded its e-STUDIO multifunction printer (MFP) line with the introduction of five ledger-size (A3) models addressing the document management needs of small-to-medium-size businesses (SMBs).

Toshiba’s monochrome product family (the e-STUDIO2822AM, e-STUDIO2822AF, e-STUDIO2823AM, e-STUDIO2329A and e-STUDIO2829A) offers several models with the print, copy, scan and fax functionality small workgroups need.

Delivering documents at up-to 28 pages-per-minute (ppm) in razor-sharp 2400 x 600 dots-per-inch resolution, these products also scan color documents at up to 22 ppm presenting vibrant digital materials at a moment’s notice.

Busy environments with space constraints such as logistics, manufacturing and retail that demand all the functionality of a full-sized MFP, including A3 support, will appreciate the compact letter-size (A4) footprint of the e-STUDIO2822AM or fax-enabled e-STUDIO2822AF. The systems conveniently provide ledger-size support via the 50-sheet built-in bypass for jobs requiring larger media.

Users may customize these models even further by adding the Wi-Fi option that turns the networked MFPs into an access point. When coupled with the new e-BRIDGE Print & Capture Entry app, Apple iOS and Android users may print-to and scan-from Toshiba MFPs to their mobile devices.

IDC reports 0.8 percent rise in global smartphone shipments in third quarter, as Huawei went full steam in China

Worldwide smartphone shipments increased 0.8 percent year over year in the third quarter of 2019 after seven quarters of decline, according to new data released Thursday by research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. In total, companies shipped a total 358.3 million smartphones during the quarter, which was up 8.1 percent from the previous quarter and enough to return the industry to positive growth. 

Digging into the growth areas, India led emerging markets in total, which together were responsible for propelling worldwide growth, mainly from the rise of Chinese brands. In China, greater consolidation toward the top 5 brands was the main trend in the quarter. 

The top Chinese brands all increased their local shipments in preparation for 11.11 or "Singles' Day," the Chinese equivalent of Black Friday for shopping in the U.S. 

Samsung gained share in 3Q19 with annual growth of 8.3 percent on the back of the Galaxy Note 10 launch in August and increased A series volumes, with a total of 78.2 million smartphones shipped. The lower-end to midrange A series in particular helped to fill in the gaps left behind by Huawei. 

Huawei shipped higher volumes than expected as it shifted focus to its domestic market, particularly in lower-tier cities, and increased inventories given the unknown future with Google Mobile services. 

While a sentiment of nationalism has helped to bolster Huawei in China, solid relationships with the local channel players has been key, offering favorable distributor terms and a well-rounded product portfolio. Nevertheless, there will be challenges ahead with 4G inventory to clear while consumers wait for affordable 5G products to hit the market. 

Apple shipped 46.6 million iPhones in the third quarter this year, which was a slight decline year over year but still better than most expectations. Apple continues to sell some refurbished iPhones via its own channels, which sustain and possibly grow the installed base, but also impact iPhone revenues. Newer iPhones, specifically the iPhone 11s and XR, did very well this quarter, capturing strong share in important markets like the U.S. and Western Europe. 

Xiaomi for the first time saw less than a third of its shipments delivered domestically in China, which was second to India in volume. Domestically, despite its launch of the CC series to appeal to young female consumers, shipments declined under pressure from Huawei. 

The runway was clearer for Xiaomi in India, however, where it strengthened its offline presence by expanding its sales network via the Mi Store and Mi Preferred Partners. 

OPPO also focused its attention outside of China as it approached the tipping point of nearly half of its shipments outside of China with domestic shipments focused on the Reno series and the A9. India experienced the strongest momentum internationally where the Reno series helped complete its product portfolio with higher-end offerings while the online-exclusive K series strengthened its online presence. 

"Despite facing challenges across many international markets, Huawei doubled down on China in the third quarter," said Melissa Chau, associate research director with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. "Samsung benefited the most internationally from Huawei's woes, ramping up the more affordable A series, while in China the other domestic competitors felt the heat from Huawei." 

"The market returning to positive growth shows the resilience of this industry as well as the ongoing demand for mobile phones, all in the face of many global macroeconomic challenges," said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. "The number of factors in play for competition are incredible. It is clear Huawei continues to make big gains in China, which remains the world's largest market. Apple beat many expectations and is driving strong volumes in mature markets that face equally challenging headwinds. And most importantly, the top 5 OEMs accounted for more than 70 percent of the world's smartphone shipments for the first time ever this quarter. The industry and vendor landscape is still changing but the trend of consolidation is ramping along with it."

IDC shows that global tablet shipments return to growth in the third quarter, pushed by new product launches

Research firm IDC has reported that the global tablet market returned to growth in the third quarter of 2019 with 37.6 million units shipped globally for a year-over-year increase of 1.9 percent, according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker. 

Apple maintained its lead and grew 21.8 percent over last year. The introduction of a new iPad late in the quarter helped the company gain share, growing from 26.3 percent in the third quarter of 2018 to 31.4 percent for this year’s third quarter. 

By including the Smart Connecter on its latest device, all of Apple's iPads except the Mini now offer a detachable keyboard option. This, combined with the iPad OS, makes Apple the largest player in the detachable space and a greater threat to the traditional PC market. 

Amazon.com managed to grab the second spot (usually held by Samsung) during the quarter, growing shipments 25.6 percent year over year. The introduction of the new Fire 7 last quarter combined with the company's annual Prime Day Sale helped drive shipments. 

With the latest refresh of the Fire 10 and the upcoming holiday season, Amazon continues to position itself as one of the most popular tablet brands. 

Samsung slipped into third place, shipping 4.6 million units in the quarter. The Tab A series continues to be incredibly popular accounting for more than half of Samsung's shipments, while the Tab S series has helped raise the company's profile as a premium Android tablet vendor. 

Huawei shipped 3.6 million units in the third quarter of this year for a year-over-year decline of 4.4 percent. The company has faced steady pressure from the United States, and this has led to a bit of retrenchment as the majority of the company's shipments were in China. 

Lenovo rounded out the top 5, growing its share slightly from 6.3 percent in the third quarter of 2018 to 6.7 percent in the current quarter. The company's performance in Asia/Pacific, including Japan, along with Europe, Middle East & Africa, continued to be a driver.