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.

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. 

Cubic announces NIAP Common Criteria Testing Validation for DTECH Labs Products with Aruba VMC

Cubic Corp. announced that its Cubic Mission Solutions (CMS) business division completed National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) Common Criteria testing and validation for its DTECH M3X and M3-SE servers using version 8.2 of Virtual Mobility Controller (VMC) from Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. 

The M3X-APP and M3-SE-SVR4 are now listed as IPsec VPN Gateway, Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) Access System and Traffic Filtering Firewall solutions on the NSA CSfC Components List.

The combination of Aruba VMC with Cubic’s modular servers provides highly secure networking utilizing VPN, Wireless Lan Controller (WLC) and firewall capabilities in a small ruggedized platform that meets MIL-STD 810 and 461 test methods.

Cubic offers networked Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities for defense, intelligence, security and commercial missions. These solutions provide information capture, assessment, exploitation and dissemination in a secure network-centric environment. Enabled by six decades of success, Cubic’s commitment to continuous innovation ensures that customers are prepared for their next mission.

Cubic's DTECH M3 Series servers such as the M3X-APP and M3-SE-SVR4 are a crucial component of many U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and international defense partners’ programs and infrastructure. 

The Aruba and Cubic solution allows the hyper-enabled operator to safely transmit secure/classified data over available commercial or unsecured networks. The Aruba and Cubic products validated in this process represent a best-in-class solution offering unsurpassed quality and performance.

“Common criteria validation and the inclusion of Cubic equipment on the National Security Agency (NSA) CSfC Components List marks a significant evolution in our CSfC partnering strategy. We are trusted by our most demanding customers to provide a reliable and secure solution for their most challenging missions,” said Mike Barthlow, senior vice president and general manager, Rugged IoT, Cubic Mission Solutions. “This milestone represents an important step forward in our commitment to both the CSfC program and to our broad base of DoD customers with secure wireless needs.”