Global tablet shipments reached 34.69 million units in the second quarter of 2021, down 3.5% sequentially and 12.5% on year, according to Digitimes Research.

Global tablet shipments have been undermined by IC shortages since the second quarter, prompting tablet brands to ship products as soon as they obtain component supply in a bid to push up shipments amid the resurging COVID-19 pandemic.

The shipments are expected to rise 30% sequentially in the third quarter to reach the second-highest quarterly level since the outbreak, thanks to seasonality and new products launched by first-tier brand vendors.

Apple, Samsung Electronics, Amazon and Lenovo remained the top-4 tablet brands in the second quarter of 2021, with Lenovo expected to surpass Amazon to rank in third place in the third quarter, due to its new product shipments, Digitimes Research figures show.

TCL will also leapfrog Huawei, Microsoft and Honor to become the fifth-largest tablet brand worldwide in the third quarter, benefiting primarily from its dual-brand strategy.

Because of the launch of Apple's new iPad Pro tablets, the shipment share of tablets with 11-inch and above display rose to over 17% in the second quarter. The proportion is expected to break 20% in the third quarter with an improved yield rate for miniLED backlight modules and stabilized supply of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

The shipment proportion of brand tablets powered by MediaTek's solutions increased dramatically to over 30% in the second quarter thanks to increased adoption by major brands.

MediaTek-based brand tablets will see their shipment share remain at above 30% in the third and fourth quarters, but the percentage will continue to slip, because of IC shortages and the fact that shipments of Appel's M1-powered iPads have started climbing.

Thanks to the release of Apple's new iPad Pros and the US-based brand's increased outsourcing proportion for the inexpensive 10.2-inch iPad, Taiwan's tablet shipments accounted for more than 40% of the global volumes in the second quarter with the proportion to stay at above 40% and continue rising every quarter in the second half, due to the iPad Pros beginning volume shipments and the debut of the new-generation iPad mini.