Worldwide tablet shipments declined 11.8% to 31.6 million in 1Q18 (5.1% below forecast). The forecast for the remainder of the year has been lowered 0.8%, resulting in an annual total of 152.0 million units (-7.2% annually) for 2018. This is according to a recent tablets forecast update report released by IDC.
According to the report, Slate tablet shipments are expected to decline by 9.7% for 2018 and 4.7% annually through the remainder of the forecast period. After an underwhelming 2017 for detachables (2.2% growth) and a softer opening quarter to 2018 (-2.4%), the category is forecast to make a turnaround in the back half of the year, resulting in 9.2% growth for the full year with a 9.1% CAGR for the remaining years of the forecast.
This IDC study provides a five-year forecast for the tablet market for 2018–2022.
“The total tablet market remains a race to see when the growth of detachables starts to offset long-term decay of the slate category,” IDC Research Director, Devices, and Displays, Linn Huang says. “With convertibles continuing to gain, that inflection point continues to push ahead the horizon.”
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