IDC expects Windows to account for a 3

IDC today released a new forecast for the tablet market for 2013 and beyond. With it, they slightly revised their own growth figures forecast for the distribution of tablets worldwide. Android and iOS dominate the market with Windows having difficulties to gain share, but with growth expectations.

During the current year, IDC expects to ship 221.3 million tablets, 53.5% more than in 2012 In 2014 this growth will be much lower, with an increase of 22.2% to 270.5 million devices distributed.In 2017 the slowdown will be even more accentuated and annual growth will remain below 10%. In any case, by then the number of tablets distributed worldwide will reach 386.3 million.

Although the market will continue to grow, from IDC they point to several reasons behind this possible slowdown In some markets the main cause could be that consumers opted to purchase large smartphones over small tablets. In others where tablets have been well placed for some time, such as the United States, the reason may be more worrisome and be related to market saturation.

Windows will have a hard time booting up on tablets

In this context Microsoft could find it even more difficult to gain market share The advantage of those from Redmond is that those who can suffer less from the slowdown are tablets with larger screen sizes, where Windows seems to perform better.Still, IDC doesn't expect Windows tablets to steal market share from Android and iOS tablets until later.

For now Windows market share in tablets stands at 3.4% It represents an increase of 2.5 points compared to last year, but it is still a long way from the 35% that iOS accumulates and the 60.8% that Android obtains. For 2017, the forecast is that distributed Windows tablets represent 10.2% of the market.

With Windows 8.1 Microsoft aimed to boost tablet sales just in time for year-end shopping. IDC analysts expect this momentum to continue but have doubts about its effects on market share. Despite the efforts of Redmond and the teams presented by some OEMs, it remains to be seen its availability and how its sales will affect Windows' journey in the competitive world of tablets.

Via | IDC