International Data Corporation (IDC) recently came up with another stats which depicts that tablets are certainly not dead. Vintage tablets might be in decline, but the detachable ones are rising year over year. It is not difficult to predict the decline of traditional tablet category as it offers nothing but just a larger screen which is not a deal breaker for consumers.
Although shipments of detachable tablets are low compared to traditional tablets, the growth is in favor with the former. Needless to say that soon we will have a point of intersection.
“To date, much of the trajectory of the detachable market has been attributed to Microsoft and Apple pushing their wares in the U.S.” He continued saying “However, the continued success of this category hinges on the willingness of other PC vendors to participate and more importantly, consumers from other countries to adopt the new form factor over convertible PCs,” Jitesh Ubrani, a senior research analyst said.
It is indeed a good news for Microsoft as their efforts for the Surface lineup is finally paying off. With the latest Windows 10 on ARM that is said to have multiple days battery life, it’s likely that Microsoft will be able to recover the lost PC market share. Although the company from the very beginning was toying with the idea of a device that can do more and sort of recreate the PC experience in a mobile-looking from factor, the developer did not have much trust left for Microsoft as the company continuously changes plans. As a result, we have Windows store that is still a work in progress even in the year 2018 where the competitors are known to have both quality and quantity as far as apps are a concern.
IDC is more hopeful with Windows 10 on ARM and they predict that more consumers will be more attracted towards these kinda devices. In short, things will only improve from here.
Lauren Guenveur, senior research analyst for IDC’s Devices and Displays team said: “After a concerning downturn in the last quarter of 2016 and first half of 2017, we are elated to see the detachable market maintain another quarter of growth.” He further added “With the first wave of Windows on ARM products expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2018, we believe the detachable category has the potential to continue its growth trajectory. Many of these products are being introduced at the premium end of the market. What remains glaringly sparse, and needed, are strong players in the mid-segment of the market.”
While Apple remains the undisputed king, Amazon for the first time manages to beat Samsung only to finish at the second spot. Samsung, Huawei, Lenovo manage 3rd, 4th, and 5th position respectively.
