Ever since 2014 we’ve been hearing apocalyptic predictions for the tablet segment. But the iPads have been doing fine and for about a year or two and the Huawei and Samsung tablets are on the up and up. That’s why I’m a bit of a non believer when I see the latest set of predictions for the next 5 years of tablet market.
A new Digitimes Research report shows that the tablet market will continue to drop over the next 5 years. 2019 is all about a slowdown of the segment, but the trend will worsen. White box models have apparently been killed by brand name devices, according to the same source. Apple will slow down with the updates of the iPad lineup, after a few frenzied years.
2020 is going to be marked by sales numbers caught in the area of 130 million units. A decline of 2 or 3% is expected from then on, every year. In 2024 the shipments will be 120 million units, still a decent figure if you ask me. Interestingly, Microsoft’s Windows tablets are gaining ground and they’re expected to rise exponentially this year.
The shipments share will reach 5.2% by 2020, closely behind Lenovo. What this study doesn’t take into account is the sudden rise of foldable hybrids, that may appear soon. Lenovo kicked that door open and more will follow, Samsung also prepping something. Surface Neo may also spawn copycats.
