Solution Providers Bullish On Detachable Tablets As IDC Sees Market Resurgence In 2018

The tablet market may continue to see declining sales for the second straight year in 2016, but research firm IDC says it sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

According to IDC, the tablet market is expected to see a slight rebound in 2018 and beyond, driven in part by steady growth in detachable tablets, which analysts say are popular due in part to their productivity-centric features.

"We’re seeing the growth of detachable tablets from a very small base right now, but the numbers year over year will grow and we expect volume in 2018 to pick up," Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers, told CRN.

[ Related: 6 Hot PCs Ready To Hit The Market]

id
unit-1659132512259
type
Sponsored post

While the tablet market has hit a low this year with a 9.6 percent decline expected, Reith said he expects the market to grow 2.1 percent in 2018.

IDC said that detachables, which are tablets that can attach to and disconnect from keyboards, currently account for 16 percent of the overall tablet market. In 2020, the detachable category is expected to reach 31 percent.

The Windows operating system is paving the way in the detachable tablet market. In 2016, Windows-based tablets will take almost 50 percent market share, according to IDC, while iOS-based detachable tablets will have 38 percent market share and Android-based tablets will have 12 percent.

While the Microsoft Surface Pro has been on the market for years, more manufacturers have thrown their hats into the detachable tablet market over the past few months, including Apple’s iOS 2-in-1 iPad Pro, Samsung’s Windows 10 2-in-1 Galaxy Tab Pro S2 and Huawei’s Windows 10 MateBook.

Mike Hadley, CEO of Boston-based Microsoft partner iCorps Technologies, a Microsoft Surface Pro authorized reseller, said he sees interest in detachable ruggedized tablets from construction companies, as well as interest from the financial sector.

’I believe that next year will be a big year for detachable tablets … customers want light and mobile devices,’ he said. ’The Surface Pro 4 compared to prior models is much more stable … we’re definitely seeing companies moving to the Surface and the main reason is because that device fits into the Microsoft ecosystem.’

Hadley, whose company also specializes in Apple products, said he’s seen clients upgrading their iPads to iPad Pros, and sees no interest in slate tablets. That’s not to say slate tablets will completely disappear—according to IDC, lower-cost, small-screen slate devices, particularly those running on Android, will attract emerging markets.

Mike Goldstein, president and CEO of LAN Infotech, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based solution provider specializing in the Surface Pro, said the productivity capabilities combined with consumer-friendly features is what makes detachable tablets so popular.

Goldstein said he is starting to talk to clients who are on the three- to five-year-cycle (tablet life cycles are typically around four years, according to IDC) and are interested in replacing their desktop with detachable tablets or laptops.

’We’re not concerned [about the tablet market] … everyone needs some type of mobile product,’ he said. ’The detachable tablet solves the problem of people saying that they need to be on a mobile device that won’t force them to choose between entertainment and work.’