We’ve all seen this coming, but nobody thought it would happen this soon. New reports have stated that tablet sales will outnumber traditional PC and laptop sales before the end of this year.
That’s way sooner than any other analyst predictions (others generally state the tablet will surpass the PC within two years), which is why I would recommend taking this news with a big grain of salt. The data was collected by a reputable organization: the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Smart Connected Device Tracker.
That report states that total tablet sales will pass total PC sales by the fourth quarter of 2013, which takes place from October to December. By 2017, tablets will make up 16.5% of the electronic device market while PCs are expected to drop to 13%.
Fortunately, that doesn’t mean we’re at the end of the PC industry. Instead, the tech industry as a whole continues to rise. The “global smart connected device” industry is projected to be worth $622.4 billion, with $423.1 billion coming from smartphones and tablets and the rest going towards PCs, laptops, and other devices.
Desktop and laptop computers aren’t going away any time soon, but they are being surpassed by smartphone and tablet sales. It’s going to be a strange day for the PC industry when global tablet sales outnumber global PC/laptop sales.