Whether you call it a death, decline, or decimation, the PC and all its variants are quickly succumbing to the rising popularity of tablets.
The latest indication of this ongoing trend is the decline in laptop PCs. Worldwide shipments of touch-based tablets in 2014 are expected to more than double that of laptops at 364 million, as well as ultra-slim PCs at 177 million, according to a new quarterly forecast from NPD DisplaySearch.
The new report follows up on DisplaySearch's January prediction that tablets would overcome laptops for the first time in 2013—a prediction DisplaySearch still stands behind. Part of the reason for the tablet boom is the growing popularity of small-screen devices such as the newly released refresh of the Nexus 7 tablet (shown above). DisplaySearch says that tablets with screen sizes of eight inches or less will make up 59 percent of tablet shipments in 2013, rising to 63 percent by 2015, as shown in the chart below.
But emerging markets are also playing a big part in the growing tablet adoption. PC purchases were already low in regions such as China and Africa, according to DisplaySearch. When people did buy a PC they were typically opting for laptops. Now, however, that preference for laptops is moving towards tablets, thanks to the lower prices of tablets as well as their better battery life and greater portability.
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