<\/p>\n
But this said claim hasn\u2019t quite worked out. A\u00a0Mint\u00a0<\/i>poll of four analysts, based on market researcher IDC India\u2019s 2023 annual PC shipments data, estimated around 1.2 million tablets to have been shipped last year. This figure has remained stagnant\u2014even as laptops saw a boost driven by the covid-19 pandemic\u2019s work-from-home era.<\/p>\n
Why, though, did the claims not work out? Is there still time, or have tablets decidedly failed to do what they promised\u2014take over the segment of mainstream laptops?\u00a0Mint<\/i> decodes.<\/p>\nFirst, was this the tablet\u2019s main claim?<\/h2>\n
This can be subjective. The primary claim of tablets was a larger display that could boost various entertainment and productivity use-cases. Over the years, companies such as Apple, Google, Lenovo and Samsung figured there was an opportunity to create slim devices that could replace the mainstream personal computer.<\/p>\n
This largely became possible as mobile chipsets, which offer the performance inside, became more powerful\u2014thus enabling a wider variety of tasks to be performed. Cooling systems also became more streamlined, which meant that a slim device could hold enough power to run desktop PC-grade software.<\/p>\n
The first example of such a hybrid experience in the mainstream consumer electronics industry was the Microsoft Surface\u2014a tablet that ran a limited edition of the Windows 8 desktop operating system.<\/p>\n
During its 7 May product launch, Apple not only unveiled the iPad Pro with a new processor, but also a keyboard attachment and a new stylus with haptic feedback. According to the company, this ensemble made Apple\u2019s flagship tablet \u201cjust as good as a MacBook”.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The claim mirrored Apple\u2019s attempts to place its top-drawer iPads as potential laptop killers\u2014because of which the company has even segregated the iPadOS operating system since 2019, and launched keyboard covers with trackpads, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This has only grown further this year with improvements to the products, although Apple\u2019s laptop replacement claims were reserved only for its Pro tablets.<\/p>\n
Apple\u2019s strategy has been to create a single ecosystem where every device works with each other. One of its features, called \u2018Universal Control\u2019, lets users control a tablet from a MacBook laptop. With each of these features, Apple maintains that an iPad isn\u2019t quite a \u2018replacement\u2019 for a MacBook\u2014but a companion.<\/p>\n
But industry experts observe that the \u2018companion\u2019 strategy may not quite have worked. In the past three quarters, Apple has reported consecutive year-on-year sales declines of 10%, 15% and 16% respectively for the iPad globally. This shows that there clearly is a problem.<\/p>\n
For long, industry consultants have noted a strategic market gap. Entry-level laptops are typically bulkier, or come with basic performance chops. Tablets, once paired with a keyboard and trackpad, could have been the solution here\u2014with a slim profile and capable processing power.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A more premium-end use case has already been seen with convertible laptops, which use desktop-grade chips and levy a premium due to design. If this model is successfully copied at scale in the entry-level price ranges, the consumer PC space could go through a considerable shake-up. Over the past decade, this is why brands have tried to build this narrative.<\/p>\n
Also, with the advent of artificial intelligence, multimodal has become key. Tablets are inherently well-designed to support inputs through a full-sized physical keyboard, a touchscreen, a stylus, voice or even gestures. Going forward, being able to do so could be crucial.<\/p>\n
Samsung\u2019s \u2018Dex\u2019 mode offered a merged vision for any mobile form factor to work as a laptop replacement, thanks to software smarts and external keyboards or mice. But Dex was a mode, which meant that it wasn\u2019t a specific innovation that changed how tablets worked. As with every software innovation, there is a clear roadblock that if developer support does not build up, the software ecosystem fails. So far, Dex hasn\u2019t exactly taken off.<\/p>\n
Microsoft\u2019s Surface line, too, offers a similar experience, but the devices are better known as convertible laptops since they run on desktop-grade processors and software. The company has of late segregated laptops and tablets with a new \u2018Surface Laptop\u2019 lineup. But Microsoft\u2019s devices have struggled to attract mainstream popularity, especially in India\u2014which is a highly value-sensitive market.<\/p>\n
Google, too, created a big push for tablet adaptability with \u2018desktop mode\u2019 on one of the world\u2019s most recognisable browsers, Chrome. However, while some pages do load well, the feature isn\u2019t universally seamless.<\/p>\n
The biggest roadblock has been software innovation. Most tablet-laptop hybrid form factor innovation started from the top-down, meaning that only the premium-end benefitted. We\u2019re yet to see a sweet middle spot in software design that would work for both tablets and laptops. Apple\u2019s iPadOS comes close, but is inherently closer to iOS than MacOS, which is meant for desktop PCs.<\/p>\n
This has put buyers away from replacing their laptops with tablets. Concerns have also remained regarding longevity\u2014mobile devices are typically seen to have shorter life cycles than desktop-class ones. Tablets are not immune from this, and brands haven\u2019t alleviated this concern as yet.<\/p>\n
Pricing, meanwhile, is a big challenge. For instance, Apple\u2019s new MacBook-rivalling iPad Pro is priced upward of \u20b9<\/span>100,000\u2014a figure that is too steep if one is to think of tablets replacing mainstream work and study laptops. Apple\u2019s own MacBook Air, with retailer and bank discounts, currently sells in India at around the same price. And given that the latter runs on Apple\u2019s full-scale MacOS, it\u2019s hard to recommend to a mainstream user.<\/p>\n Barring a one-time fillip from the covid-19 pandemic, the tablet market has been shrinking, or remained stagnant at best. The\u00a0Mint\u00a0<\/i>poll of four analysts estimated that tablet shipments dropped 12% last year, and could drop even further.<\/p>\n Despite the weakness, though, tablets may not entirely die out. Budget tablets find use cases in rural education initiatives, or government divisions for various purposes. This might give select brands a good-enough reason to consider innovating with tablet software interfaces. With hardware already supporting the tablet\/laptop hybrid form factors, user interface innovation can bridge the gap between entry-level laptops and tablets.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" But this said claim hasn\u2019t quite worked out. A\u00a0Mint\u00a0poll of four analysts, based on market researcher IDC India\u2019s 2023 annual PC shipments data, estimated around 1.2 million tablets to have been shipped last year. This figure has remained stagnant\u2014even as laptops saw a boost driven by the covid-19 pandemic\u2019s work-from-home era. Why, though, did the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[529,188,183,185,186,19315,893,1469,187,101,184,491,189,2389,150,182,190],"class_list":["post-317909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-apple","tag-blockchain-tech","tag-blockchain-technology","tag-crypto-technology","tag-cryptocurrency-technology","tag-entry-level-laptops","tag-ipad","tag-laptops","tag-metaverse-technology","tag-microsoft","tag-nft-technology","tag-samsung","tag-soul-bound-token","tag-tablets","tag-tech","tag-technology","tag-token-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317909"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":317913,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317909\/revisions\/317913"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Do tablets really have a big future?<\/h2>\n