IDC Korea expects productivity-based detachable tablets and commercial demand to be future growth drivers.

According to recent research by IDC Korea (CEO Hong Yoo-sook), shipments in the domestic tablet market in 2015 are projected to reach 2,004,000 units, a 35.8% increase compared to 1,476,000 units in the previous year. This represents an increase of approximately 9.2% compared to the forecast at the beginning of the year, and attention is focused on the key factors behind the expansion of the domestic tablet market.

The domestic tablet market, which once experienced negative growth due to a lack of distinct identity between large-screen smartphones and laptops, successfully reversed its trend last year by reviving interest in tablets through a diverse product lineup. This year, the realization of the value that tablets can provide based on use cases specialized for education is identified as the main driver of market growth.

▲ Domestic Slate and Detachable Tablet Shipments, 2015 Forecast (Thousands of Units)

While the global tablet market is expected to decrease by 8.1% this year to 211.3 million units compared to the previous year, the domestic tablet market has seen expanded consumption as the needs of the industry and consumers in the specialized private education market aligned, allowing for a direct experience of utility.

Almost all publishers and educational companies are developing demand for reading content rental programs and efficient online lectures through business models linked with tablets. It appears that the expansion of the market was driven by the discovery of new demand sources for tablets as they replaced paper in reading content—that is, by the resolution of doubts regarding the effectiveness of tablets as learning support devices.

Meanwhile, the overall stagnant consumer market shows no particular need for replacement, and both the global and domestic markets appear to be in a transitional phase. In response to these challenges, the industry is focusing on detachable tablets as a future growth engine for the market. Detachable tablets recently introduced by vendors demonstrate distinct evolution in OS and hardware compared to early models; they are assessed to have reached a stage capable of accommodating both productivity-oriented consumer and business users, and are expected to play a significant role in the future growth of the tablet market.

[Table] Domestic Tablet Shipments, 2013-2015 (thousands)



IDC Korea forecasts that domestic detachable tablets will reach 9.2% of the total market in 2015 and expects this figure to increase further thereafter. Consequently, competition among major platform vendors such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft is expected to be more interesting.

"It is particularly encouraging that the demand for education in the domestic tablet market is driven by the private sector rather than government initiatives like those seen overseas," said Kim Ae-ri, a senior researcher at IDC Korea. "The commercial market is emerging as an alternative to drive the tablet market, which is stagnating due to relatively long replacement cycles and overlap in usability with phablets. It is expected that the potential for commercial use will continue to be explored by discovering use cases in various industries, such as finance, healthcare, logistics, and retail, in addition to the education market."