Global tablet shipments are set to fall again in 2016, although at a lower rate than last year, according to a new report from Digitimes Research.
Tablet Market To Fall Again In 2016While global tablet shipments declined 17.9 per cent in 2015, they are on their way to a 4.8 per cent decline this year, Digitimes found, with most brands, with the exception of Microsoft and Huawei, to experience flat growth or a small decline in shipments.
Among other key trends, Digitimes expects a continued declining demand for 7″ consumer price-friendly Wi-Fi tablets and tablets with phone features.
Meanwhile, Digitimes also expects to see the increased popularity of Microsoft’s Surface series and Windows 10, along with slight year-on-year growth for Apple.
Following years of steep growth, the tablet market is now reinventing itself, bringing consumers new product categories amid the emergence of hybrid devices.
Gartner recently forecast that ultramobile (basic and utility tablets) device shipments will decline slightly in 2016, enjoying a slight rise in growth in 2017 and 2018, with hybrid touchscreen 2-in-1 devices to prove a growth area in the PC market.
Following CES in January, Ovum noted that many of the tablets launched at the tradeshow were 2-in-1 devices.
With many tablet models based on Windows 10 launched at CES, including from Dell, HP and Lenovo, Ovum ranked the Samsung TabPro S as “the most surprising announcement”, stating that it is well positioned to compete with Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 and Apple’s iPad Pro throughout the year.
