TechCrunch reports from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that tablets are dead. Six years after the original iPad ushered in the post-pc era, there were no tablets at the premier mobile showcase. Companies and consumers have moved on.
To be fair, TechCrunch says that if you looked hard enough, you could find an Android tablet or two stashed away in a corner. And Apple (AAPL), the tablet leader, doesn’t come to MWC. They conclude that tablets are not the future for Samsung’s (005930) and LGs (LGLD) of the consumer electronics world.
In fact, the author reports that Samsung, Sony (SNE), HTC (2498) and LG didn’t have any new tablets to announce. They didn’t even mention tablets during their conferences. It’s not just that people don’t care about tablets anymore — the big electronics companies themselves aren’t even trying to release new products for this market anymore. The article lists a number of reasons why tablets have become so unpopular.
Tablets are now a commodity
First, tablets are now a commodity. You can find dozens of perfectly fine tablets for less than $200. And there’s no differentiating factor between Android tablets. As a result, companies are not making a profit from them.
You already have a tablet
Second, chances are you already have a tablet at home and it’s working fine. So the author reports that there’s no reason why you should upgrade it — it probably runs Netflix, Facebook (FB) and the Kindle app. It has a browser and your emails. Long replacement cycles mean you don’t need to pay attention to the new and shiny tablets. The Business Insider also observes tablets are more like PCs — you buy a new one only when the old one is worn out or doesn’t run the software you need.
Phones are getting bigger
Third, phones are getting bigger. The LG G5 (5.3-inch display) and Samsung Galaxy S7 (5.1-inch display) are the two most interesting flagship phones that were announced at MWC. The first Samsung Galaxy Note had a 5.3-inch display, which could be called a phablet. Today, it would be an average phone. According to TechCrunch, big phones are the new normal, and everybody uses their phones constantly to interact with other people and do everything they’d do on a tablet.
BI explains the phenomenon of phones replacing tablets includes Apple. Apple started making larger phones, the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, a year ago, which eliminates some of the justification for a bigger touch screen device. Also, consumers upgrade their phones every two or three years, since the carriers subsidize some of that up-front cost (plus, it’s just cool to have a new phone, which you carry with you everywhere in public).
For those who need a snapshot of the decline of the tablet, Business Insider presented a chart from Statista based on numbers from IDC. In the last four quarters, tablet sales have been down from the previous year’s quarter. Overall, shipments in the first three quarters of 2015 are down 9% from the same time a year ago.
TechCruch takes a pretty hardcore position on tablets. Tablets had a good run, but won’t be around for much longer. They argue that the iPad is a better tablet than any Android tablet because there aren’t many tablet-optimized apps on the Play Store. This is key to understanding the iPad’s appeal.
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I have covered the issues around tablets since 2011 including the first signs of a decline in Apple’s iPad Teflon armor in 2014. TC says tablets can still make a comeback. They need to become something else. But something needs to change and soon. Current tablets prove that you should never bet against the smartphone.
Related articles
- Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Wins Best Mobile Tablet Award At MWC 2016 (mspoweruser.com)
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
