Large screen smartphones have been slowly killing tablet sales even in this quarter of the year. Well, can’t say we’re surprised. The news comes from IDC who also noted that phablets proved to be hotter than portable PCs as well as tablets in the third quarter of 2013.
But the situation isn’t totally hopeless for tablet makers, as of now. Phablets can be classified as phones with screens measuring anything between 5 inches and 7 inches. The Sony Xperia Z Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 both have display spanning more than 6 inches.
A small-sized slate would normally have a touchscreen measuring 7 inches and higher. Large smartphones are expected to pose a threat to such hadrware and not their much bigger counterparts. So what we’re likely to see is the gradual phasing out of small tablets as phablets take over their space on market shelves.
Microsoft can rub its hands in glee
According to IDC, the shift to large tablets could mean a good spell for Microsoft since the Windows platform likes to have a lot of screen estate. If this turns out to be true, then OEMs such as Dell, Lenovo and HP stand to benefit too. But Windows will definitely find that stealing some significant market share from Android and iOS won’t be a cinch.
Speaking figures, global tablet shipments may touch 221.3 million units by the end of 2013. The previous estimate was close to 227 million. But the phablet factor wasn’t accounted for properly back then. This is still 53.5% higher than what was seen in 2012. By 2017, IDC expects the market growth to slow down to single digits in percentages.