Based on a greater decline in demand than predicted in the first quarter and concerns that tablets and 2-in-1s will face additional market challenges the rest of the year, the International Data Corporation (IDC) has lowered its 2014 worldwide tablet plus 2-in-1 forecast.<\/p>\n
The revised total is put at 245.4 million units, down from the previous forecast of 260.9 million units.<\/p>\n
The new forecast represents a 12.1% year-over-year growth rate, which is notably lower than the 51.8% year-over-year growth of 2013, the IDC said.<\/p>\n
“Two major issues are causing the tablet market to slow down. First, consumers are keeping their tablets, especially higher-cost models from major vendors, far longer than originally anticipated. And when they do buy a new one they are often passing their existing tablet off to another member of the family,” said Tom Mainelli, VP, devices & displays at IDC.<\/p>\n
“Second, the rise of phablets \u2013 smartphones with 5.5-inch and larger screens \u2013 are causing many people to second-guess tablet purchases as the larger screens on these phones are often adequate for tasks once reserved for tablets.”<\/p>\n
In the past year alone, the IDC noted that the phablet share of smartphone shipments has more than doubled, from 4.3% in the first quarter of 2013 to 10.5% in the first quarter of this year, representing 30.1 million units shipped.<\/p>\n
As large phones impact near-term tablet growth, IDC expects the market to rebound by shifting its focus back toward larger-screened devices.<\/p>\n
Products with larger screens-like Microsoft’s new 2-in-1, the 12-inch Surface Pro 3 – are expected to play a greater role in the market going forward.<\/p>\n
“The shift back toward larger screens will mark a welcome sea change for most vendors as the average selling price for these devices will remain roughly 50 percent higher than the average sub-8-inch device,” said research analyst, Jitesh Ubrani.<\/p>\n
“Microsoft is also expected to benefit from this shift as the share for Windows-based devices is expected to double between now and 2018.”<\/p>\n
\u00a0Tablets versus larger-screen smart phones<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n