New Delhi, Nov 5 (IANS): The first three quarters of 2023 recorded some of the largest contractions in the tablet market and the holiday season isn't expected to be very different, a new report has shown.

The worldwide tablet shipments posted a decline of 14.2 per cent (year-over-year) in the third quarter of 2023, totalling 33.2 million units, according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC).

“With no dramatic improvements in macroeconomic conditions, project and purchase delays are expected to be pushed further into 2024," said Anuroopa Nataraj, senior research analyst with IDC.

“Refresh in the education segment and growth in use cases across verticals might help the tablet market to stay afloat in the long run, but in the near future we don’t expect any significant uptick in tablet sales,” Nataraj added.

Despite constricted demand, the market saw an upsurge of 18 per cent over the previous quarter due to seasonality.

Meanwhile, Chromebook shipments also contracted in 3Q23 with shipments totalling 3.5 million units for a year-over-year decline of 20.8 per cent.

Apple led the tablet market with shipments of 12.5 million units yet declined 15.1 per cent.

Unlike past years, Apple has forgone the launch of new models during the third quarter, which typically provides an uplift in the second half of the year. However, not all is lost as Apple has been able to maintain share since last year, said the report.

"Tablets have unfortunately always found themselves in an awkward middle ground between PCs and smartphones, and this continues to put downward pressure on the market," said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager with IDC.