A new forecast from the International Data Corporation shows tablet shipments exceeding those of portable PCs this year. The continuing fall in PC sales is expected to result in tablet shipments overtaking the entire PC market (portable computers and desktop machines) by 2015.
Tablet shipments are expected to grow 58.7% year-on-year, from 144.5 million units last year to 229.3 million in 2013. This year, desktop PC shipments are expected to fall 9.3% to 134.4 million and portable PC shipments are expected to fall by 6.7% to 187.4 million.
IDC’s figures show that much of this tablet growth has been driven by low-cost Android devices. The worldwide average selling price for tablets this year is expected to fall by 10.8% to $381; almost double the average cost of a PC. Smaller tablets with 7-inch and 8-inch displays are also becoming increasingly popular.
Ryan Reith, Program Manager for IDC’s Mobility Trackers, said “What started as a sign of tough economic times has quickly shifted to a change in the global computing paradigm with mobile being the primary benefactor. Tablets surpassing portables in 2013, and total PCs in 2015, marks a significant change in consumer attitudes about compute devices and the applications and ecosystems that power them. IDC continues to believe that PCs will have an important role in this new era of computing, especially among business users. But for many consumers, a tablet is a simple and elegant solution for core use cases that were previously addressed by the PC.”
Worldwide tablet market share by screen size, 2011 to 2017
| Screen size |
2011 |
2013 |
2017 |
| Under 8 inches |
27% |
55% |
57% |
| 8 - 11 inches |
73% |
43% |
37% |
| Over 11 inches |
0% |
2% |
6% |
Figures for 2013 and 2017 are forecasts.
[IDC forecast graph; Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker]