Tablets to See Slower-Than-Expected Resurgence

Tablets to See Slow Resurgence 

Tablet sales declined substantially in 2015, but they aren't down for good, according to one market research firm. Nevertheless, their short-term growth will be slower than previously expected.

Although the outlook for tablets has turned slightly grim of late — with sales in 2015 dropping to about $55 billion compared with $68 billion in 2014 — market research firm ABI Research is still calling for a compound annual growth rate of about 3 percent through 2020. That's down slightly from the previous forecast, but still positive. Revenues for manufacturers are expected to remain flat this year as pricing pressure increases, and the installed base of users is expected to shrink in the near term.

"We expect the global installed base to decline primarily due to older devices in most developed market economies aging out faster after purchase than replacement devices being acquired and new products being shipped into emerging market economies," according to Jeff Orr, research director at ABI Research. "Major advanced market economies will represent about 65 percent of branded tablet shipments in 2015, down from more than 68 percent in the previous year."

Orr also noted that larger tablets — those with screens bigger than 10 inches — will have little impact on sales.

"Fifty-seven percent of branded tablet shipments in 2015 had displays measuring between 7 inches and 8.9 inches, with more than 23 percent of those shipments measuring in at 10 inches or above," he noted in a prepared statement. "However, the introduction of 12-inch plus tablets in 2015 is not expected to shift the buying trend back to larger tablet displays. The prices of 7-inch and 8-inch tablets remain compelling as the market sweet spot for the foreseeable future."

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • glowing futuristic laptop with a holographic screen displaying digital text

    New Turnitin Product Brings AI-Powered Tools to Students with Instructor Guardrails

    Academic integrity solution provider Turnitin has introduced Turnitin Clarity, a paid add-on for Turnitin Feedback Studio that provides a composition workspace for students with educator-guided AI assistance, AI-generated writing feedback, visibility into integrity insights, and more.

  • From Fire TV to Signage Stick: University of Utah's Digital Signage Evolution

    Jake Sorensen, who oversees sponsorship and advertising and Student Media in Auxiliary Business Development at the University of Utah, has navigated the digital signage landscape for nearly 15 years. He was managing hundreds of devices on campus that were incompatible with digital signage requirements and needed a solution that was reliable and lowered labor costs. The Amazon Signage Stick, specifically engineered for digital signage applications, gave him the stability and design functionality the University of Utah needed, along with the assurance of long-term support.

  • Abstract AI circuit board pattern

    New Nonprofit to Work Toward Safer, Truthful AI

    Turing Award-winning AI researcher Yoshua Bengio has launched LawZero, a new nonprofit aimed at developing AI systems that prioritize safety and truthfulness over autonomy.

  • two large brackets facing each other with various arrows, circles, and rectangles flowing between them

    1EdTech Partners with DXtera to Support Ed Tech Interoperability

    1EdTech Consortium and DXtera Institute have announced a partnership aimed at improving access to learning data in postsecondary and higher education.