As we move towards the conclusion of 2013, analysts are already making estimates about the next year. Research firm Canalys has now forecasted that a total of 285 million tablets will be sold during 2014.
The analysis produced by Canalys takes into consideration the greater PC market and the role of tablet sales within this market. The research claims that next year, 50% of all PC shipments will actually be tablets. This shows the increasingly greater influence of tablets in the world of mainstream computing.
Other PC sales, such as those of desktops and notebooks, is expected to decline in the coming year. This is certainly not good news for PC vendors who may want to jump the tablet bandwagon as soon as possible. But even in the tablet arena, there is a tough war being played out between Apple and Android vendors.
Android has certainly overtaken iOS in terms of numbers. But Apple continues to muster really good tablet sales and making top profit out of it. Tim Coulling of Canalys isn’t very hopeful about Apple’s future though, “Apple’s decline in PC market share is unavoidable when considering its business model. Samsung narrowly took the lead in EMEA this quarter and Apple will lose its position to competitors in more markets in the future.”
However, let’s not forget that Apple has frequently surprised analysts in the past. Samsung, on the other hand, estimated to grow significantly given its Android backing, may face other hurdles such as local vendors, cheaper and better customized hardware and the launch of more mobile startups. The price tags may be trimmed down further as we see the growth of more powerful tablets in 2014.
Canalys concludes how 2014 is going to be a messy year for PC vendors by saying, “Expect 2014 to bring a flurry of acquisitions, mergers, and failures as PC hardware vendors of all sizes struggle to maintain their desktop and notebook business while attempting to capitalize on a tablet market that will see great volumes driving limited value.”
Source: Canalys
Courtesy: Venture Beat
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