Worldwide tablets shipments recorded a year-over-year decline for the first time since its inception in 2010 according to the preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker.
The overall shipments of tablets and 2-in-1 devices in the last quarter of 2014 have dropped by 3.2%. This decline however didn’t affect the shipments for the whole year. In fact, 2014 shows a 4.4% increase or a total of 229.6 million units.
“Despite an apparent slow-down of the market, we maintain our forecast about tablet growth in 2015,” said Jean Philippe Bouchard, Research Director, Tablets, IDC. “Microsoft’s new OS, a general shift towards larger screen form factor and productivity focused solutions, and technology innovations such as gesture interface that could be introduced in tablets will help the market maintain positive growth in 2015.”