Growth in the numbers of tablet users is set to slow in 2015.
Although nearly 15% of the global population will access an electronic tablet this year, eMarketer predicts that the growth in usage will continue to slow, up just 17.1% compared to the massive 54.1% climb in 2013 and 29.1% in 2014. By 2018, the company estimates some 20% of the world population will use tablets regularly.
The predictions of a slow-down are based on:
Amazone Kindle Fire, iPad Mini, Google Nexus 7 Image: Mariordo |
- Tablets being seen as luxury items
- Increasing competetion from other connected devices.
- Lack of clarity as to why people should use a tablet.
“The most limiting factor is the use case for a tablet: It is not as clear-cut or compelling as a communication tool—the core capability and use case for a smartphone.” says Cathy Boyle, senior analyst at eMarketer.
However, in the short-term, China is set to become the land of the tablet user - more than 328 million residents are likely to access these devices at least once per month, nearly one-third of the world’s total. This will be followed by the US with less than half that number.