• Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Contact
  • Log in
CCS Insight
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who We Serve
    • What We Do
    • Jobs
  • Research Areas
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Press
    • Company News
    • Media Coverage
    • Media Resources
  • Try for free
  • Menu Menu
  • About
  • Research Areas
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Press
  • Contact Us

Worldwide Tablet Sales to Hit 540 Million Units in 2018

Windows Picks up Speed, but Could Still Fall at the Next Hurdle

14 January 2015, London: Tablet sales are expected to double over the next four years; reaching a staggering 540 million units by 2018, according to CCS Insight’s annual tablet forecast. After a relatively quiet 2014, when sales rose just 9% from 2013, CCS Insight predicts the worldwide tablet market will grow by 28% in 2015 to 283 million units.

While tablet sales slowed in 2014, demand is expected to race ahead in 2015 with sales to first-time users being complemented by a rash of upgrades, as owners of older models replace their ageing tablets. Buyers in established markets will be joined by a new wave of users in emerging markets, to spark an increase in sales across the globe.

While Android remains the powerhouse of tablet sales, CCS Insight expects Windows to increase its share of the tablet market in the next two years. This will be down to a combination of Microsoft’s investment in marketing, growing awareness of the Surface tablet and the attractive bundles of hardware and software.

Marina Koytcheva, CCS Insight’s director of forecasting explains. “We expect Android to continue dominating the low end and midrange market, with Apple taking the lion’s share of the high end. But Windows is gaining a bigger slice of the pie, albeit from a very low level, and should not be overlooked.” Koytcheva continued, “Microsoft’s decision to scrap its licence fee for Windows devices under nine inches is a major factor. It has given Windows fresh impetus, as it has spurred manufacturers to produce a better range of devices at a variety of prices — as low as $99 for HP’s Stream 7, for example.”

However, CCS Insight warns that Windows is not guaranteed success. “Microsoft still runs the risk of failing to convert the wide availability of cheaper Windows tablets into strong growth in unit sales before 2017,” Koytcheva cautions. “Windows 10 will take time to make its mark, and developers will need a few months to perfect applications for the new platform. We expect Windows 10 to have little impact on tablet sales before late 2016.” For Microsoft, tablet growth in the next couple of years depends on the performance of Windows 8 models. It will have to work hard to overcome the limited selection of consumer apps on these tablets. In addition, greater availability of Microsoft services like Office, OneDrive and Skype on rival platforms, especially iOS, will hinder potential adoption of Windows 8.

Beyond 2016, businesses will be key to the second wave of growth of the tablet market, and Windows 10 will play a major role. Increased focus from manufacturers, concentrating on personal productivity features and in particular hastening deployment of mobile enterprise applications will push more enterprises to consider tablets and “two in one” when replacing PCs.

Growing enterprise demand provides a potential benefit for Apple too. The strong focus on the business market and early signs of promise from Apple’s relationship with IBM suggest the IBM deal is not Apple’s last partnership in this area. And while the format and design of iPads in its current line-up appear strong enough to satisfy the demands of many consumers, Apple could very well be working on a productivity-focused device that combines work and play. If this proves correct, it will be another hurdle for Windows. Microsoft can ill-afford to stumble as it races to catch the tablet market leaders.

CCS_WW_3D_printers_forecast_October2014_s

For a PDF version of this infographic, please click here.

About CCS Insight

CCS Insight is a global technology analyst company focussing on the mobile, Internet and media industries. It provides comprehensive services that are tailored to meet the needs of individual clients, helping them make sense of the connected world. Follow CCS Insight on Twitter.

For further information contact:

Hugo Deacon
(020) 7861 2842
ccsinsight@harvard.co.uk

Share this Insight
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail

You might also like

Shaun Collins Leads GLOMO Awards Body for Fourth Year

18 January 2021/0 Comments/by CCS Insight
Read more
https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Shaun_Collins_sq_s.jpg 540 540 CCS Insight https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CCS_Insight_logo_101.png CCS Insight2021-01-18 15:41:082021-01-18 15:41:08Shaun Collins Leads GLOMO Awards Body for Fourth Year

CCS Insight’s Ben Wood Named in Top Five Tech Analysts of 2020

14 January 2021/0 Comments/by Romina Portela
Read more
https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ben_Wood_sq_s_white.jpg 540 540 Romina Portela https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CCS_Insight_logo_101.png Romina Portela2021-01-14 09:14:572021-01-14 09:24:50CCS Insight’s Ben Wood Named in Top Five Tech Analysts of 2020

CCS Insight’s Nick McQuire Wins Global Analyst Award

22 December 2020/0 Comments/by CCS Insight
Read more
https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/NM_t.png 81 81 CCS Insight https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CCS_Insight_logo_101.png CCS Insight2020-12-22 09:35:542020-12-22 09:38:06CCS Insight’s Nick McQuire Wins Global Analyst Award

Extended Reality Sails Toward Better Times

8 December 2020/0 Comments/by Marina Koytcheva
Read more
https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/VRAR_forecast_Dec2020_600.png 330 600 Marina Koytcheva https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CCS_Insight_logo_101.png Marina Koytcheva2020-12-08 09:49:222020-12-08 09:50:09Extended Reality Sails Toward Better Times

5G Adoption to Surge as 5G Smartphones Proliferate and Prices Tumble

13 October 2020/0 Comments/by Marina Koytcheva
Read more
https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/5G_forecast_connections_October_2020_s.png 320 640 Marina Koytcheva https://www.ccsinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CCS_Insight_logo_101.png Marina Koytcheva2020-10-13 09:52:192020-10-13 09:53:255G Adoption to Surge as 5G Smartphones Proliferate and Prices Tumble

Links

  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Follow us

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

© 2020 CCS Insight

Expectations for International CES 2015 Broadband Providers Best Placed to Shape the Future of the UK’s Multiplay...
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Accept settingsHide notification only