Tablet shipments, including 2-in-1 devices, are expected to drop 8 percent to 212 million in 2015, said IDC.

The 2-in-1 segment is likely to grow 86.5 percent to 14.7 million units.

“In the past, the biggest challenges with 2-in-1 devices were high price points, less than appealing designs, and, quite frankly, lack of demand for Windows 8, which was the OS most devices were running,” said Ryan Reith, program director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

Due to the presence of more OEMs in this segment, prices have started to come down significantly.

More than 40 different vendors shipped 2-in-1 products in the second quarter of 2015 against 14 vendors two years ago.

The launch of Windows 10 and more Android-based products, and speculated launch of a larger, screen-detachable iPad by Apple may augment the growth in 2-in-1 devices.

The commercial market did not migrate toward tablets largely due to an unclear value proposition. The 2-in-1 segment may be tapped by the commercial market. But IT buyers have been slow to move toward mobile devices beyond smartphones and do not yet see tablets or 2-in-1’s as a true PC replacement, said IDC.

“Once IT departments are done evaluating Windows 10 and the awaited iPad Pro, they will start migrating some their portable PC and tablet installed base towards 2-in-1s,” said Jean Philippe Bouchard, research director of Tablets.

The average selling price (ASP) of slate tablets will drop below $300.

Share of larger screen (>10″) tablets and 2-in-1’s will grow from 18.6 percent in 2014 to 39.5 percent in 2019.

Baburajan K
[email protected]