“Plug and Disconnect” tablets pull the rug out of “closed” devices

The past period witnessed an increase in the demand for “connect and unplug” computers, or tablets that can be detached and connected to other components, and these computers succeeded in pulling the rug out from “normal closed” tablets, or those that cannot be connected to other components.

In addition, IDC issued a comprehensive report on this category of computers and their future, warning of the difficult situation faced by "normal closed" computers, pointing out that the total number of units sold during the whole of 2016 reached 174.8 million units. Tablets as a whole, down 15.6% from 2015, and most of this decline occurred in the closed tablet category.

The report stated that the market for "connect and unplug" tablets is growing significantly, and its sales increased during 2016 by 25%.

In detail, a new category of tablet computers has emerged called "connect and disconnect", or tablets that can be connected and separated with other components, such as the keyboard, screen, and others.

These computers began to emerge as a promising segment that is increasingly in demand, as they meet the needs of professional buyers from individuals, employees and work teams in institutions and companies, who use smartphones and laptops as a productivity tool. The strong demand for this category was evident in the sales figures for tablets for 2016, especially in the last quarter of last year, when their sales increased by about 20%.

This type of tablet is also called “two-in-one” and some interpret this name as combining the characteristics of laptops and mobile phones, while others interpret it as combining the characteristics of tablets and laptops together.

And «Samsung» raised more interest in this category of computers recently, after choosing it to be the main event that it presented to the audience of the World Telecommunication Conference and Exhibition, which ended its work in Barcelona yesterday.

During the exhibition, the company unveiled two new models in this category, namely the Galaxy Tab S3, which runs on the Android operating system, and the Windows Galaxy, which runs on the Windows operating system.

Samsung presented this category of computers with a competing product for the iPad Pro and Microsoft Surface Pro.

Samsung has not revealed the prices of the two models or when they will be available in the market, but it is a bet by the company that they will find their place at the top level of the tablet market, and this can be difficult for the “Galaxy Tab S3” model, because there are a huge number of The cheapest tablets are running the Android operating system, while it will be relatively easier for the Galaxy Windows model, given that the consumer is already accustomed to the high prices of Windows tablets.

For his part, Hassan Ingeum, director of marketing for tablets at Samsung, said, "(Samsung) is trying to respond to those looking for alternatives to (iPad Pro) and (Microsoft Surface Pro) through these two products, as well as alternatives to laptops and smartphones. They are large in size together, so you will attach the writing stylus and the keyboard for free with them.” He added that "the transition of these two models to the category of (connection and separation calculators), is something that leads to dazzling the buyer and attracting him away from the (iPad) or the laptop that he has been associated with for several years."

In conjunction with Samsung's move, IDC, www.idc.com, specialized in information technology market research, issued a comprehensive report on this category of computers and their future. The report warned of the difficult situation experienced by ordinary, closed tablets, as this affects the general level of consumer demand for tablets as a whole.

Manufacturers sold 52.9 million tablets during the fourth quarter of 2016, down 20.1% from the same period in 2015.

The total number of units sold during the whole of 2016 reached 174.8 million units, which is 15.6% less than the entire number of units sold during 2015, and this decrease is for the second year in a row. Most of the decline occurred in the category of single-closed tablets.

And things got worse for Apple in particular, which, despite being a market leader, has been suffering from a decline in sales of its tablets for the third year in a row. There is one iPad out of every four tablets that are released on the market.

Buyers' Preferences

The report attributed the decline in tablet sales to the fact that buyers no longer want the usual tablets, as they see them as closer to personal computer updates, rather than mobile phones, in addition to the fact that phones with large screens made tablets less attractive, and this feeling led to consumers, Especially in the US, they would rather spend their money upgrading and upgrading their mobile phones than buying tablets and wearables.

Samsung's risk

The report indicated that "Samsung" occupies the second place in the tablet computer market, after "Apple", with a market share of 15.1% during the last quarter of 2016, after it was 13.6% during the last year.

The report stated that the market for “connect and disconnect” tablets is growing significantly, in 2016, its sales increased by 25%, and “Apple” and “Microsoft” devices of this type have become popular with a segment of consumers, and now constitute 12% of the total number of computers Tablets sold during 2016, while there doesn't seem to be any sign of offsetting the decline in single tablets.

Many PC producers, who have led the portable PC market over the past years, are looking to expand their product portfolio to include "plug and drop" tablets. IDC expects that the second half of 2017 will see the arrival of a wide range of "plug and drop" tablets from original PC manufacturers, as well as those working from the start in the smartphone business.