Date: 21/06/2015

Tablet/notebook hybrid devices heading for a high growth of 70% in 2015

Market researcher Gartner sees good demand for devices with both tablet like touch interface as well as laptop like behavior with keyboard attached. The devices are called as hybrid devices. Gartner predicts the shipments of hybrid devices are on pace to reach 21.5 million units in 2015, an increase of 70 percent from 2014. Hybrid devices are estimated by the Gartner to take a share of 12% of total sales of mobile PCs in 2015, rising to 26 percent in 2019.

Tracy Tsai, research director at Gartner shared below points on the market of hybrid devices.

1. Of the 21.5 million hybrid devices shipped in 2015, 8 million will be ultramobile tablets (two-in-one tablets) and 3.5 million hybrid ultramobiles (two-in-one detachable and convertible ultramobiles).

2. This will make hybrid ultramobiles the fastest-growing segment of the mobile PC market with 77 percent year-on-year growth .

3. The combination of portability, productivity and flexibility of touch and a keyboard in one device is attracting some notebook and tablet users to replace their devices with hybrid form factors.

4. PC vendors are expanding into this segment with a value proposition to compete with Apple and Android-based tablet vendors. Sales of hybrid devices have not stopped growing since 2012, totaling 12.6 million units in 2014 and expected to reach 58 million units in 2019.

5. Despite hybrid devices achieving strong growth, clamshells will remain the mainstream form factor, accounting for 87 percent of mobile PCs in 2015 and 74 percent in 2019.

Gartner finds from its survey as many as 11 percent of tablet users, 10 percent of desktop users and 8 per cent of notebook users are considering replacing their current device with a hybrid device in the next two years.

Windows 10 on hybrid ultramobiles will offer a better user experience with touch and voice as well as universal Windows apps — apps written just once that receive device-specific user experience tweaks to allow them to run on different Windows devices, comments Tracy Tsai.
Author: Srinivasa Reddy N
Author: Srinivasa Reddy N