Tablet shipments will dip 8.1 percent to 211.3 million units in 2015, said IDC.
According to a new International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker forecast released on Tuesday, detachable tablets will continue to represent a growing portion of total shipments. Apple, Google and Microsoft have already introduced detachable tablets giving competition to PC makers such as Dell, HP, etc.
IT market research agency Gartner’s personal technology survey released in October 2015 said that 50 percent of consumers expressed intention to purchase a PC in the next 12 months, compared with 21 percent for tablet purchase intention.
Jean Philippe Bouchard, research director, Tablets at IDC, said: “The launch of sub-$100 detachables, and platform innovation being driven by competition will drive the detachables segment to double in size in the next year, recording more than 75 percent growth compared to 2015.”
IDC said the transition to detachable tablets also ushers in two other key trends: the growth of Windows and a turnaround for Apple’s iPad device line.
ipad Pro will be the only reason for Apple to gain tablet market share in the coming years as it targets select enterprise and prosumer audiences.
Windows-based devices – slates and detachables combined – will more than double market share by 2019.
Apple has shipped 9.9 million tablets in Q3 2015 against 8 million by Samsung and 3.1 million by Lenovo in the third quarter. Tablet shipments dropped 12.6 percent to 48.7 million units.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com