Sale of tablets is expected to grow 7 percent in 2016 against 4 percent drop in growth anticipated in 2015, said Strategy Analytics.
Opportunity for new and replacement sales of tablets will be reversing a 4 percent decline in 2015. Consumer surveys show that tablets and PCs are nearly equally desired among owners of both devices and with over 700 million of these devices beyond the midpoint of their lifecycles in 2015.
Strategies of Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung to redefine the tablet will result into positive growth in 2016 shipments.
“As replacement cycles have lengthened for both tablets and PCs in recent years, 2-in-1 detachable tablets have become affordable enough that they will compete for consumer spend of both products,” said Peter King, research director, Tablet & Touchscreen Strategies service.
The release of Windows 10 in July provided opportunities at the high-end to better position tablets against PCs on productivity needs and compatibility with the office setting, the report said.
Fast growth in the early years means that hundreds of millions of tablets will need upgrades due to old age in the next one to four years.
Furthermore, new Tablet sales opportunities outside of the consumer market are being boosted by the work being done and partnerships being forged by vendors such as Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, and HP, focused on the needs of the enterprise.
