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NOTEBOOKS
New EMEA Quarterly Tablet Tracker
Figures published by International
Data Corporation (IDC) show that
Western European shipments
of ultraslim convertibles and
detachables (previously referred to
by IDC as 2-in-1s) posted positive
growth (44.7%) to account for
18.4% of total consumer shipments
and 21.9% of commercial devices
in 16Q1, up from 9.2% and 16.3%
respectively a year ago.
This trend is even more significant,
says IDC, in the context of a shrinking
market. The Western European PC and
tablet market contracted by 13.7% YoY in
16Q1, with total shipments reaching 18.2
million units. The decline was softer in the
commercial segment, where the drop in
shipments was in single digits (-5.2% YoY),
while consumer demand fell by 18.6% YoY.
Detachable shipments grew 190.4% on
a YoY basis in Western Europe, from about
500,000 to 1.5 million units over the
course of a year. On the PC side, despite a
12.9% decline in PCs in Western Europe,
convertible notebooks grew by 12%,
driven by consumer demand.
In the consumer tablet market, the
detachable form factor continues to gain
popularity, with shipments increasing
almost fourfold from the same quarter last
year, to just below 1 million units.
Growth potential
According to IDC, the performance seen
in the convertible and detachable sectors
highlights that purchases are driven by the
need for portable, mobile and functional
solutions and that despite the challenging
market situation, these form factors have
significant growth potential. The market
uptake has been limited so far, but with
more choices in terms of brand and price
point, a growing number of end users
are being won over by the new value
proposition.
Andrea Minonne, research analyst, IDC
EMEA Personal Computing, commented:
“Customers are looking for solutions
that allow for flexibility. We want to
access information, create content,
or communicate without constraints.
Addressing such market demand
represents an opportunity for IT vendors.
Convertible notebooks and detachables
are the most suitable device to guarantee
functionality and mobility at the same time.
Both form factors have been well received
in the market and have gained momentum
across Western Europe.”
Enterprise growth
Detachables’ penetration continues to
increase among both enterprises and
professionals, with half a million devices
shipped in the first quarter of the year (up
92.9% YoY).
“Adoption among business users is
only just starting,” said Marta Fiorentini,
research manager, IDC EMEA Personal
Computing. “We expect an acceleration
in detachable deployments in the coming
months as companies evaluate the new
and more powerful commercial designs
that have recently been introduced.
Interest from enterprises is clear and this
form factor seems to be a perfect fit with
their mobility strategies. In some countries,
we also see detachable deployments
taking place in the public sector, which is
usually more traditional in its form factor
choices and often challenged by budget
constraints.”
Ecosystem trends
This trend is reflected in the evolution of
the different ecosystems and consequently
OS. In terms of OS dynamics, Windows
continues to account for over half of
the combined PC and tablet market —
strengthening its overall position due to
Best of both worlds
Analysts highlight convertible and 2-in-1 devices as big opportunity for IT resellers
the success of Microsoft’s detachable
devices and increasing ODM designs for
this form factor, which have increased its
tablet market share to 13%.
As for PCs, Windows continues to
dominate the market but performed
slightly below average in the first quarter
of the year. Despite strong awareness of
Windows 10, consumers have been slow
to upgrade their hardware, while in the
commercial segment most users have only
recently renewed their old XP machines.
Android/Chrome OS ranks second with
Android maintaining its dominance in the
tablet market (over 60%), despite declining
annual volumes due to market saturation
and weak consumer demand. Chrome
OS is still a marginal operating system
in volume terms, but it is slowly gaining
some ground in certain geographies and in
education in particular.
Apple continues to play a significant
role in the market, especially in the
premium segment. The new 9.7in iPad
Pro only started to ship in the last few
days of the quarter, so has not yet had a
major impact on iOS shipments in the first
quarter, though it should boost the outlook
for the rest of year. In the PC market, OS
X continued to grow its market share
from last year, supported by the continued
success of the MacBook Pro line. Moreover,
the new MacBook launch in April will
sustain portable shipments for the rest of
the year.
Overall, the large installed base of
Apple devices in Europe, combined with an
extensive number of applications, makes OS
X/iOS users among the most attractive for
companies like SAP, which recently signed a
partnership agreement with Apple.
Photos courtesy
of Apple
Convertible
notebooks and
detachables
are the most
suitable device
to guarantee
functionality
and mobility at
the same time
IDC: Convertible and
Detachable Devices
Winning Over
Consumers
Continued...
