ABI Research: Low-cost tablets accounted for 60% of the global market in 2016

Recently, a new report from market analysis company ABI Research said that Apple will still dominate the global tablet market in the short term, but by 2016, the market will be occupied by more and more low-cost products, and the proportion will reach 60%. According to the report, since Apple launched the first generation of iPad tablets three years ago, more and more manufacturers have joined in the research and development of similar products. According to data, there are as many as 220 tablet products sold simultaneously around the world today.

Among these products, Apple's iPad has always occupied an absolute market advantage through its successful marketing, but this situation will change in the next five years. The agency predicts that by 2016, the global tablet market will be dominated by low-cost products priced below US$400, accounting for 60% of the entire market.

Jeff Orr, head of the agency's consumer behavior research group, said: "There are already some tablets priced below $400 that have been launched on the market. These products are mainly sold in emerging markets such as China and India, and they will usher in a wave of spurt growth in the next five years, which will further develop the global tablet market."

The report also mentioned that in terms of tablet size, due to the influence of Apple's iPad series products, tablets with screen areas of more than 9 inches currently account for 75% of the total. However, as users' requirements for portability increase, tablet devices with screen areas between 7 inches and 9 inches will be more popular.

In addition, e-readers, the sister devices of tablet computers, are also developing rapidly, and there are more than 30 such products sold in the global market. In 2011, the global growth rate of e-readers reached 33%, and this trend will continue in 2012. It is expected that the global shipment of e-readers will maintain a 20% increase in 2012 .

According to Aishwarya Singh, market analyst at ABI Research, "As more new e-reader products are launched, competition between manufacturers will intensify, which will benefit consumers. However, the pace of digital publishing is slowing down around the world, which will directly inhibit the development of e-reader products in emerging markets. "