PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
More than half of the UK population (about 32 million) use a tablet computer at least once a month.
(Maybe the other half need to get with the times.)
According to eMarketer, this is expected to increase to around 40 million (60 per cent) by 2019.
The number of tablet users in the country grew by more than 35 per cent last year, however this growth rate is expected to drop significantly as adoption of gadgets nears saturation.
Regardless of the slowing growth in the number of tablet users, 7.4 million new tablet users are expected in the UK between 2015 and 2019.
Unsurprisingly, Apple is sitting pretty at the top of the market with 16.7 million people using the iPad.
Growth rate for the company is slowing however, as more people are moving over to other devices such as Samsung Galaxy Note, Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire.
Plus, eMarketer has said that the iPad will account for less than half for the first time next year.
Bill Fisher, analyst at eMarketer, commented: “The country’s tablet market is reaching a point in its maturity curve that signals a slowdown in user growth.
“Such as slowdown in the rate of penetration suggests that most of those who want a tablet likely already have one, with more sales than ever likely to be replacements.
“The tablet boom in the UK is over, but now the replacement cycle looks to have begun in earnest. And with almost three-quarters of the internet population set to be tablet users by 2019, it’s still a market worth being in.”
In related news: Synaxon UK is seeing strong sales of notebooks compared to tablet computers.
