Report Sees Global Tablet Shipments Sinking Below 140 Million Units in 2021

ABI Research sees global tablet shipments sinking below 140 million units in 2021, from 207 million in 2015, it said in a Wednesday report. Demand for branded tablets in advanced market economies is decreasing “due to saturation, slow replacement cycles, greater influence of business purchases, and substitution,” the research firm said. China and other Asian markets have decreased demand for white box tablets due to shifts to branded tablets and reliance on smartphones and phablets, it said. "China is evolving, moving away from white box products to support local and global brand manufacturers," it said. "As this behavior continues across other markets in Southeast Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America, the potential for white box tablets to remain viable will all but go away." Though advanced markets had two-thirds of all branded tablets shipped in 2015, “this will soon flip,” ABI said. The firm predicts that by 2021, 57 percent of branded tablet shipments “will come from emerging and developing economies."