Over the course of 2012 and 2013 tablet sales have been steadily increasing with 45.2 million units being shipped out in Q1 2013 alone. The growth may be coming to an end as major display production companies are shifting their manufacturing might to smartphones.
Taiwan-based makers together will ship 242.72 million smartphone touch panels and 51.81 million tablet touch panels in 2014. This increases the smartphone production segment by 11.7% and decreases the tablet market by a whopping 29.4%.
It seems from sources we have talked to Asus that the market will be eroded in 2014 as basically “anyone who wants a tablet already has one.” Dell, HP, Barnes and Noble and Acer have all scaled back on their product offerings for most of 2013 and the trend will continue.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
