New Delhi, Apr 24 (IANS): The tablet market in the Asia-Pacific region will reach 57.2 million units in 2022, with pandemic-driven purchases driving consumer demand in the first half.

According to the IDC, the supply side is also expected to improve in the region, benefiting from the entry of new vendors and the improved supply situation of other major vendors.

In 2021, the tablet market in the Asia-Pacific (including Japan and China) region posted a 12.9 per cent year-over-year (YoY) increase, reaching 56.4 million units.

Tablet shipments are expected to grow by 1.5 per cent in 2022 as supply improves and robust demand continues.

Consumer shipments grew by 20.7 per cent YoY in 2021, reaching 43 million units, according to the global market research firm.

"Many countries in the region had gone through different levels of lockdowns throughout 2021. With the e-learning, home entertainment and working-from-home needs triggered by the pandemic, the demand for tablets continued," said Jennifer Kwan, senior market analyst for Client Devices Research at IDC Asia/Pacific.

The commercial market increased by 6.5 per cent YoY in 2021.

Several newcomers entered the Android tablet market in 2021, including Xiaomi and realme who launched new tablet models, as well as Nokia and Motorola.

More new vendors should launch tablets in 2022, including OPPO and vivo.

"It's interesting to see more smartphone vendors stepping into the tablet market. It helps ease the supply challenges and provide more product variety. We can expect the competition in the Android market to be fierce in 2022," Kwan said.