In Q1 2016, Apple Led the Detachables Market in the U.K. Hands Down with the iPad Pro

In February Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple's iPad Pro was surprisingly the Top 'Detachable' Sold in Q4 2015." Our report also noted that Microsoft was unable to crack the five top vendors list in Europe for their Surface line of detachables. A new IDC report published yesterday continues to show that Microsoft's Surface struggles to crack the U.K.'s overall market. Though IDC does note that in the business sector alone, Microsoft's Surface holds about 33% market share. Overall however, Apple took the top spot in detachables.

Interestingly the U.K. became the largest detachable market in Western Europe in the first quarter of 2016, according to IDC's latest statistics. The U.K. overtook Germany, which as expected had ended 2015 as the leading country for this form factor. With more than 300,000 unit shipments the U.K. accounted for 23% of total detachable shipments in Europe and appears set to remain at the top of the country ranking in the short term.

The introduction of the iPad Pro provided an additional boost to the detachable market and extended the customer base while keeping Apple as the leader in this category of product.

On the consumer side, IDC notes that "the main factor behind the boost in detachable shipments was the introduction of the iPad Pro, which not only marked Apple's entrance into the detachable market but also secured consumer leadership for the vendor."

Marta Fiorentini, research manager, IDC EMEA Personal Computing noted for the report that "The shift in form factor demand that we have been observing over the last several quarters is going to benefit significantly from the expansion of Apple's offering into this area, especially in a market such as the U.K., where Apple's brand awareness and loyal customer base remain strong."

The introduction of the smaller iPad Pro had only a limited effect in Q1 as the product became available to order only in the last week of the quarter and through limited channels; however, a bigger impact is expected from Q2. Even though the price difference with the iPad Air-line will have an impact on demand initially, the iPad Pro 9.7" model will help sway current iPad owners to renew their existing device, especially as Apple discontinues higher-spec configurations of the models without keyboard.

Phablets continue to appeal to customers in the U.K., with sales increasing 35.4% year on year in 2016 Q1 to 1.6 million units. "Samsung created the phablet category in 2012, but it was Apple that brought the category to the limelight with the launch of the iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6S Plus. Both devices have helped Apple perform strongly in the phablet segment, where it holds 44% market share," said Francisco Jeronimo, research director, European Mobile Devices, IDC EMEA.

In the U.K., Apple's strong brand appeal is reflected in the entire smart connected device market — Apple leads the market in 2016 Q1 with almost a third of total shipments due to strong demand for phablets, detachables and ultraslims.