Can artificial intelligence (AI) be the catalyst to revitalize the sluggish growth of tablets, akin to its transformative impact on personal computing and mobile experiences worldwide?
Despite a modest recovery observed in the global tablet market during the January-March quarter, as reported by IDC, substantial progress is still awaited after over two years of consecutive decline.
Anuroopa Nataraj, a senior research analyst at IDC, anticipates that the awaited resurgence will stem from the upcoming refresh cycle, particularly driven by increased tablet adoption in the education sector and the burgeoning gig economy within commercial segments.
Nevertheless, challenges loom ahead, with fierce competition from PCs and smartphones contributing to a subdued outlook for the tablet market.
In the first quarter of this year, global tablet shipments saw a marginal uptick of 0.5 percent year-on-year, totaling 30.8 million units.
Notably, tech behemoth Apple faced setbacks last year amid economic downturns and a dearth of new model launches, resulting in an 8.5 percent year-on-year decline.
However, Apple is gearing up to unveil new iPad models next week. Samsung, the South Korean electronics giant, secured the second position with 6.7 million units shipped in the first quarter, marking a 5.8 percent decline, according to the report.