According to IDC the tablet and 2-in-1 market faces "additional" challenges during 2014 as the analyst lowers its annual shipment forecast from 260.9 million units to 245.4 million.
The revised forecast represents 12.1% growth, a notable decline from the 51.8% growth of 2013.
"Two major issues are causing the tablet market to slow down. First, consumers are keeping their tablets, especially higher-cost models from major vendors, far longer than originally anticipated. And when they do buy a new one they are often passing their existing tablet off to another member of the family," IDC remarks. "Second, the rise of phablets-– smartphones with 5.5-inch and larger screens-– are causing many people to second-guess tablet purchases as the larger screens on these phones are often adequate for tasks once reserved for tablets."
So, in way of summary-- customers are taking longer to replace their tablets, and if they do they are more likely to buy a large smartphone/phablet (5.5-inch+) instead.
IDC says phablets make 10.5% of Q1 2014 smartphone shipments, up from 4.3% in Q1 2013. And as large phones impact near-term tablet growth IDC expends the market to rebound towards larger devices, such as the 12-inch Surface Pro 3.
"The shift back toward larger screens will mark a welcome sea change for most vendors as the average selling price for these devices will remain roughly 50% higher than the average sub-8-inch device," IDC concludes. "Microsoft is also expected to benefit from this shift as the share for Windows-based devices is expected to double between now and 2018."
