Global tablet shipments rebound after years of sweeping decline, says report

After two years of decline, the tablet market seems to be poised for a small rebound.

Tablet sales are projected to fall just one percent year over year in 2017, rather than the more significant losses experienced in the past few years.

While global tablet shipments are projected to drop from 205 million to 203 million between 2016 and 2017, 2020 will reportedly see an increase of approximately 20 million shipments. This will produce a global shipment rate of about 223 million.

Of these shipments, 2-in-1’s, Windows tablets and enterprise sales will likely lead in market growth. Furthermore, Android will continue to lose market share to Windows tablets as its percentage will shrink from 63 percent in 2016 to 57 percent in 2020. By 2020, Windows tablets will comprise 20 percent of the tablet market share.

Two-in-one’s will experience growth in the next five years, as the tablets that ship with a keyboard, or are designed for a keyboard accessory, will reach a combined 27 percent of the tablet market by 2020.

In addition to increased consumer use, tablets for enterprise purposes will grow by nine percent by 2020. Reports indicate that these shipments will continue to increase as tablets become an increasingly more affordable device.

Related: Worldwide smartphone sales grew a modest 3.9 percent in Q1 2016, according to Gartner