In recent years, smartphones have become more and more versatile and their screens are getting bigger and bigger, which once squeezed the sales share of tablet computers. However, under the epidemic situation, the news that tablets are out of stock keeps coming out.
The tablet market continues to be hot and out of stock, which has become the norm in the industry.
Niu Zhilu, Director of Purchasing and Marketing of Computer Office and Business Department in Shenzhen, Suning.cn, said that due to the epidemic situation, the sales volume of the tablet computer business he was in charge of in 2020 increased significantly compared with previous years. In Shenzhen alone, there will be more than 30,000 units in the fourth quarter of 2020, a year-on-year increase of 67%.
Suning.cn Shenzhen Daqu Computer Office Sales DepartmentDirector Niu Zhilu：From the second quarter of 2020 to the end of the year, the sales of the whole tablet computer increased by 110.4%, of which Huawei increased by 194%, iPad increased by 107%, and new brand Lenovo also entered the ranks of tablet computers, increasing by 560% in 2020. From February to March in 2020, our tablet computers are basically hard to find in the market, and some models are still out of stock.
Not only the domestic market, but also the overseas flat-panel market is in an explosive state. According to the data of the General Administration of Customs,In the first three quarters of 2020, China’s cumulative export of tablet computers was 15.53 million units, an increase of 21.8% year-on-year..
Compared with sales terminals, manufacturers felt the recovery of the tablet market earlier. In a flat-panel computer packaging workshop in Wuhan, the reporter met Qi Yue, the person in charge here. Soon after the official resumption of work, they received a large number of new orders. By the end of 2020, they had added 10 production lines, and even this warehouse was changed into a flat-panel packaging workshop. Even so, the shortage of products often bothers them.
Qi Yue, Head of Lenovo (Wuhan) Industrial Base：The number of orders for our tablet computers has increased by 80% to 90% compared with the same period in 2019, and this trend has continued now.
According to the latest data released by IDC,In the third quarter of 2020, China’s tablet PC market recorded the highest year-on-year growth rate in a single quarter since 2014.The shipment volume is about 6.9 million units, up 21.7% year-on-year. Under such a market background, shortage has become the norm in the flat panel industry.
Prices continue to rise, and the supply of small-sized panels is in short supply.
In addition to being affected by the increasing sales volume, in terms of upstream supply, the price of panels, as the key components of tablet computers, is also rising all the way, and the supply is very tight.
Xu Hefeng’s company focuses on the production of flat-panel painting products. Since the second quarter of 2020, the sales of their products have increased greatly, and the stock of raw materials has also increased accordingly. As the core component of tablet computer, panel is the key to the company’s output. However, when communicating with panel suppliers, Xu Hefeng found it more and more difficult to get goods.
The demand for delivery of flat-panel manufacturers is rising day by day, which directly leads to the shortage of small-size panels.10.2-inch and 11-inch panels are the most out of stock.This has also boosted the prices of related products.
Xu Hefeng, Chairman of Shenzhen Huiwang Animation Technology Co., Ltd.：If there is more demand, of course, it will be expensive if there is less supply. In 2020, the price of display screens will indeed increase by 10%, 20% or even more.
In many panel companies, the reporter learned that since the second quarter of 2020, the factory has been in a state of full production and sales, and the inventory is also at a low level in recent years.
Hu, General Manager of Public Communication Department of TCL Technology Group Co., Ltd.roc：In November and December, 2020, the price of panel has been greatly increased, which is about 1% to 2% globally and about 3% in the domestic market.
Recently, the unexpected shutdown of a large glass substrate factory in Japan also led to the urgent supply of glass substrates as raw materials for panels, which made the already stretched market worse.
According to IDC’s forecast, the shortage of tablet PC market in China will continue for some time, and it is expected that the supply problem of industrial chain will be alleviated in the first quarter of 2021 and return to normal level.In the short term, the price of small-size panels may remain high..
Peng Xiandong, General Manager of Zhongyikang TV Division:In 2020, compared with 2019, the tablet market is expected to grow by 10%, with a scale of about 23 million units. From the perspective of upstream panel resources, it is relatively tight. Looking at the small and medium-sized part, the supply of LCD panels upstream of tablet computers and the price of panels are basically in a state of slight increase every month, and basically maintained at a high level from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2021.
Online Education Innovative Use Experience of Tablet PC with Fire by Combining Soft and Hard
The outbreak of the tablet market has enabled more companies to see business opportunities, and new players are constantly pouring in. According to the data of Tianyancha Professional Edition,By the end of 2020, there were more than 4,900 related enterprises with new enterprise names or business scope including "tablet computers and screens" in China.. In order to stand out in the fierce competition market, many enterprises are aiming at the online education market.
Affected by the epidemic,Online education has become an important usage scene of tablet computers.In fact, in addition to dedicated student tablets, more and more ordinary tablet brands have begun to seize this market. For example, a tablet computer has an education center software built in. After clicking on it, you can see that there are various learning resources implanted in it, and it is also equipped with a parent’s background control system.
According to the data of China Internet Network Information Center,During the epidemic, in March 2020, the number of online education users in China reached 423 million, and in June, the number was still 381 million, accounting for 40.5% of the number of netizens.In order to attract users, tablet computer companies are constantly introducing more education-related functions, aiming at the educational demands of different user groups, and accessing courses and applications of different educational services.
According to IDC data, before 2020, ordinary tablet manufacturers in China did not implant educational resources; After the third quarter, the proportion of ordinary tablets implanted with educational resources has increased to 28%. Not only some tablet computer companies that originally positioned education, but also other companies believe that education function will be the standard for all tablet products in the future.
At the same time, with the fierce competition in the industry, tablet companies are paying more and more attention to the research on the changes of customer demand trends. The design of tablet computers is also focusing on three scenarios: office, study and entertainment, further improving hardware optimization and the application combination of software and hardware.