The worldwide tablet market is expected to slow this year, with year-on-year growth at 7.2 percent from 52.5 percent in 2013, according to a new forecast by IDC. Growth will be pulled down by lengthening device lifecycles for tablets, which increasingly resemble those of PCs rather than smartphones. The longer lifecycles are driven by legacy software support for older products, especially within iOS, and the increased use of smartphones for a variety of computing tasks.
Amid the slowdown is the expectation that 2014 will represent the first full year of decline in Apple iPad shipments.
Total shipment volumes for this year are expected at 235.7 million. For 2018, growth will slow further to 3.8 percent, with volumes at 285.9 million.
Android will take a 67.7 percent share of the market this year, with growth at 16.0 percent and shipment volumes at 159.5 million. The market share will decline to 64 percent in 2018, with growth at 2.2 percent and shipment volumes at 183.1 million. The iOS market share will reach 27.5 percent this year, down 12.7 percent, with shipment volumes at 64.9 million. For 2018, growth will be at 2.2 percent, with the market share slipping to 24.5 percent amid shipment volumes at 70.1 million. Windows will this year have a market share of 4.6 percent, rising to 11.4 percent in 2018, with year-on-year growth going from 67.3 percent this year to 17.9 percent in 2018, and shipment volumes this year at 10.9 million, and in 2018 at 32.6 million.
Detachable tablets, or 2-in-1, have made technical progress but will still see shipments of only 8.7 million units this year, just 4 percent of the total tablet plus 2-in1 market. Consumers seem to be hesitant around the Windows 8 platform, which the majority of 2-in-1 devices are built upon.
Looking forward, a few unknowns that could impact overall tablet shipments, including the industry reaction to Windows 10, what Google decides to do with Android and Chrome OS, and Apple's rumoured product line expansion.
