The era of megalomania continues, manufacturers offer the market all the gadgets larger and larger sizes, giving them absolutely unexpected purposes. At the end of last year, Apple brought to market a 12.9-inch iPad Pro and has publicly announced the end of an era of traditional laptops.
The head of Apple Tim cook put it quite sharply and uncompromisingly:
“I believe that the iPad Pro will replace your laptop or desktop computer for many users. After they start to use it, they will realize that they need nothing more. Except that the smartphone”.
The majority of analysts are inclined to think that the market is “big” tablets running in the configuration with the cover-keyboard (the so-called “generation of transformers”) will be able to win its own niche in the market and, ultimately, to improve predictions of the General decline of the tablet market.
So, according to research firm IDC, while in the third fiscal quarter of 2015, sales of tablets fell by 12.6%, according to forecasts, sales of transformers-tablets will increase dramatically in the next 12-18 months.
As noted igate.com this niche not belong exclusively to the “Apple” of the company. So, Microsoft released its version of the tablet with keyboard – Surface Pro – in 2013, and at the end of 2015 preupgrade this line a new, more powerful model. Such models are also all major players in the market of mobile and computer technology: Asus, Lenovo, HP, Dell and Acer.
At the same time, sales of tablets worldwide are actually falling, giving way to the mobile market more and more “developed” and “smart” smartphones.
Tablet or PC?
Devices-transformers are really win back the position of the conventional tablets. But can they kill traditional laptops and desktop computers – that is the question.
Research Director of tablets at IDC’s Jean Philippe Bouchard thinks that in the next 5 years this will not happen. He noted the high cost of such devices, their nichebot and rather narrow compatibility of the proposed devices. In his opinion, the solution Apple could start to gain popularity, if the company integrates “smart” keyboard with the less expensive models of the iPad. Also, in his opinion, the rate of technology diffusion will also have an impact and solutions from other leading manufacturers, and in the next 12-18 months we will see a lot of innovation from other manufacturers, such as Dell, Acer, Asus and HP.
In turn, senior analyst at research firm Canalys Tim Coulling stressed that for threatening to “murder” laptops and especially desktop PCs, the iPad will need to solve the software issue and capability.
Now iPad Pro users have very limited access to the software they are accustomed to using on their desktop computers. And existing versions are usually quite different from their “stationary” counterparts.
“At the moment I don’t think that the iPad Pro could replace all”, — said Culling.
Devices-transformers, including the iPad Pro, and Surface Pro, in his opinion, really great future, compared with conventional tablets.
Research firm Forrester also notes that the overall share of large tablets by 2018 will be as much as 20% of the total tablet market.
What can prevent?
Maybe Apple and dream that their new tablet will kill the laptop market, but there are reasons why this market may not even notice such a “competitor”. Some of them already expressed by the analysts and are described in the previous section. But there are also a number of other problems.
To a stationary computer, you can easily connect two monitors, extra hard drive, printer-scanner-copier and have a whole list of related machinery, most of which, unfortunately, is not available for the tablet. On the laptop to process video, do photo retouching in Photoshop or Corel Draw, create a “heavy” presentation and much more.
Of course these tasks can be performed on the tablet, but the quality suffers, and time for such lessons will take more.
Of course, iPad apps to be more reliable, easier to find and install… but it is functional programs for laptops and desktops many times more. These programs have a more developed functionality, and is able to handle files with big size. Which is not true of programs from the App Store.
Significant role also plays the user experience on desktop PCs – large screen with wiscoy definition, a comfortable and familiar mouse and keyboard.
