Has the era of tablet domination already passed?
There was a time not too long ago when tablets ruled the marketplace, when they rivaled smartphones in popularity and when people thought of them as suitable replacements for their higher-powered laptops and PCs.
It appears now however, that the era of tablet domination may have already passed.
Apple itself, the purveyor of many premium tablet computers has seemingly downsized its tablet lineup this year.
Even though the tech giant brought new tablets to the market in the form of the iPad Pro variants, others went missing, including the next iPad Air and iPad Mini tablets.
Samsung, another big player in the tech industry, may also allow the year to pass with a key tablet missing from its lineup of offerings.
Trouble signs for the tablet industry come not only in the form of shrinking lineup, but in sales as well.
As was noted in an earlier report from Computer World, global tablet shipments are once again projected to drop for this year, according to the IDC.
That alone is a big trouble sign for tablets, and when taking into consideration that a drop for this year would mark two consecutive years of declining shipments, well, then that does not seem to bode well for the future of this particular type of gadget.
Tablets aren’t going away for good, of course. They’ve already carved out a niche in the tech market, though it has seemingly shrunk this year.
The real issue with tablet computers seems to be that they may have just peaked already, that the allure they once possessed that led to skyrocketing sales has now faded and people have simply decided that they’d rather have laptops and smartphones again.
Tablets taking up less space in the tech market may be bad for their manufacturers, but it also represents an opportunity for another new piece of technology to take over for them, rise to the top and perhaps establish a firmer position atop the market.
Source:http://www.computerworld.com/article/3079053/tablets/decline-in- slate-tablets- bigger-than-expected-idc-says.html
