Baidu Remains China Tutoring Tablet Market Leader in Q2 2023

China has been at the forefront of technological innovation, and one notable area where this innovation is taking center stage is the education sector. The incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the education system has been nothing short of revolutionary, offering students a transformative "smart life" in their learning journey.

AI in education allows for a personalized learning experience, tailoring teaching methods and materials to individual student needs. Through AI-driven analysis of student performance data, educators can identify strengths and weaknesses, enabling them to develop targeted strategies for each student.

According to IDC's quarterly tracking report, China's Tutoring Tablet market shipped about 1.03 million units in Q2 2023, a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 36.6%. Shipments in the first half of the year were approximately 2.2 million units, up 37.2% YoY.

Since the fourth quarter of 2022, the Tutoring Tablet market has entered a second phase of development with wider demand that is driven by increased consumer awareness. Competition is becoming more intense as many new players continue to enter the market, including tutoring company Xueersi and Youdao, an intelligent learning firm under NetEase. Currently, shipments are still showing upward momentum, with a diversification of consumer demand.

The Xiaodu's G-series of products helped Baidu rank first in the overall Tutoring Tablet market. The Baidu G series is offered at an affordable price and comes with the Wenxin AI system. It ranks top in the 1,000 - 2,000 RMB price range segment.

iFLYTEK is an industry pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence and has widely used AI in their Tutoring Tablets. This has enabled its T-series products to lead in market share for Tutoring Tablets that are priced above RMB 6,000 and enabled the new C-series products iFLYTEK to move up one place in the 1,000 to 2,000 RMB price range, in Q2 2023.

BBK is an established manufacturer of Tutoring Tablets and has always held top spot for market share in offline sales channels. Their T series and X series products strongly led in the offline segment priced over RMB 4,000 in the first half of 2023. The S series products have also gradually increased their market share due to both excellent performance, good content and AI functionality. The new S7 model will be released in the third quarter with improved performance, upgraded screen and is expected to have a better overall user experience.

Despite the continued market dominance of Tutoring Tablets with 10 to 11-inch screens, the market share of products with screens over 15 inches has been increasing and reached 16.5% in the first half of 2023. Parents are making the screen quality a priority with built in eye-protection and larger screen tablets and will continue to be a strong trend. Performance and content provision are improving as they are also key differentiators.

In terms of screen display technology, the application of electronic paper, which focuses on eye protection, is accelerating. According to online monitoring data from RUNTO, the penetration rate of e-paper in the online learning tablet market was 5.8% in the first half of 2023, an increase of 5.1% compared to the same period last year; OLED is currently relatively low in the learning tablet market, accounting for less than 1% in the first half of the year.

IDC China believes that the overall market size for Tutoring Tablets in China will steadily increase with rising consumer demand. Consumer experience will continue to improve as more brands from the K12 educational industry vertical enters the Tutoring Tablet market.

RUNTO predicts that in 2023, the online learning tablet market in China will accelerate growth, with an annual online scale of 1.22 million units, a year-on-year increase of 18%.