The Global tablet market is expected to rebound in 2018 as detachables gain traction in both mature and emerging markets, according to IDC.
IDC’s worldwide quarterly tablet tracker expects global tablet shipments to decline by 12% in 2016, finishing at 182.3 million shipments.
Senior research analyst Jitesh Ubrani, who tracks this sector, said a revival : “The benefits of a thin and light design combined with a touchscreen are bolstering growth in the detachable tablet market, but are also bleeding over into the PC market as slim and convertible-type notebooks gain popularity.
“This is a welcome change for vendors as average selling prices for notebooks and tablets are expected to increase in the near term.”
The growth in emerging markets, including Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan), Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, is forecast to continue to drop until 2018 and then remain flat in the following two years.
The disproportionate decline in slate tablets will not ensure growth until 2020 even though these markets are anticipated to see growth in the detachable segment.
Mature markets, including the US, Western Europe, Japan, and Canada, will have positive single-digit growth until 2020 as the growth in detachable tablets will offset the decline in slate tablets.
IDC research director for tablets Jean Philippe Bouchard said: “The transition to detachables is inevitable, but slate tablets will remain relevant as highlighted by recent results from Amazon with its Kindle Fire portfolio.
“Fueled by ultra low-end prices and a growing ecosystem play involving the Internet of Things, slate tablets will still account for more than twice the volume of the detachable segment with 124 million units forecast to be shipped in 2020.”
