A new study from technology analyst firm Telsyte shows sales of tablet devices (slates and detachable hybrids with Windows 10, iOS or Android) in Australia grew 4% year-on-year to 1.59 million units in the first half of 2016. The top four vendors in H1, 2016 were Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and Lenovo, which collectively sold 80% of units.

Telsyte says the market for tablets has stabilised and recorded modest growth for the first time (half-on-half) since 2014. As predicted, high-end convertible tablet-notebook devices have seen growing adoption and have halted the decline in unit sales after the market took a battering after its collapse in sub-premium (slates) devices in 2014.

Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi says, “The market is on track to record sales of 3.21 million units by the end of the year, as consumers start to replace ageing tablets and computers with newer, more functional touch screen devices. The decline in tablet sales that began in 2014 has stabilised, and the market seems to have turned a corner.”

Revenues were up 33% on H1 2015 as the market starts to embrace more expensive 2-in-1 devices rather than lower-end, slate-only formats.

Despite a fall in market share, Telsyte believes Apple will retain its market leadership in the next two years as consumers replace ageing iPads. Apple continues to enjoy a repeat purchase intention rate of 80%, and many of the top selling iPad models, such as the third-generation iPad (released in March 2012) and the iPad 2 (released in March 2011), are unsupported and unable to load the latest iOS 10 operating system.

Convertible 2-in-1s set the pace

Telsyte end-user research shows that 20% of tablet users have already tried using their tablet with a keyboard (hybrid 2-in-1) including buying an aftermarket keyboard (or combination case/keyboard). Of these, 75% regularly use a keyboard. The rise of 2-in-1s will drive demand for other tablet accessories, such as protective covers, styluses, port extensions and adapters.

About 21% tablets sold in H1, 2016 were Windows-based devices, indicating a growing trend which has been driven by Microsoft-branded tablets. Microsoft retains leadership in the Windows 2-in-1 category.

More than 20% of devices sold had screens above 10 inches, indicating a shift to using tablet devices for more than just portable content consumption.

"Telsyte believes sales of Windows-based tablets should exceed Android-based unit sales within the next 18 months,” Fadaghi says.

Telsyte also notes that Android tablet sales might also be affected by the production halt of Samsung Note7 devices, despite the Note 7 not being in the tablet category.

Telsyte’s tablet study includes estimates of computer purchase intentions, as the tablet and computer market increasingly merge. Findings show that a PC replacement cycle is due with more than 700,000 PCs and Macs (without touchscreens) are expected to be sold in the second half of 2016 with about 12% of these units being Apple computers.

Telsyte figures show that 15.1 million Australians now have access to a tablet.