Hail the Tab Top
When Dell announced a few weeks ago that it would no longer launch or upgrade its Venue-branded Android tablets, it did not come as a big surprise. The news came a few months after HP'S decision to exit the low-end tablet market to focus on smaller volumes of higher-end products. The demand for these devices is shrinking drastically. According to market research firm Gartner, worldwide PC shipments (desktops + mobile PCS) declined 9.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2016 - the sixth consecutive quarter decline with volume falling below 65 million units. In India, PC shipments declined by 7.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2016, compared to the same period last year, totalling only 2 million units. Manufacturers are now betting on 2-in-1s - a combination of laptop and tablet - to bolster the market. Of the many reasons contributing towards the decline in sales, the increase in the product life cycle is a major one. PCS are not sought after in households anymore and there are cheaper tablets (under Rs 15,000) available that consumers do not feel the need to replace or update. Moreover, smartphones with big displays offer a convenient way to browse the web.
The new line of devices, 2-in-1s, is divided into detachables and convertibles. In detachables, also called hybrids, the screen can be completely detached from the keyboard and used as an independent tablet. Unlike lock-based keyboard docks that have inbuilt battery making them heavier, new-age tablets magnetically snap to the sleek keyboard and don't weigh much either. Some even come with built-in battery and USB port. Most 2-in-1s now support compact proprietary charger, which is easy to carry, adding to the convenience. Convertibles, meanwhile, come with a rotating hinge - the screen when swivelled back can be used as a tablet. However, the tablet and the keyboard are not detachable. A convertible can be used in various modes - laptop, tablet, stand and tent mode.
PC manufacturers have been able to focus on 2-in-1s, thanks to the touch-friendly Windows OS. While Windows 8 works well with finger touch, Windows 10 has been further improvised and also supports styli. Microsoft's Surface Pro range, an independent Windows tablet with a kickstand and a detachable keyboard, is popular in this segment and hailed as a 'game-changing hybrid' that popularised this concept.
PC manufacturers are aggressively expanding their hybrid offerings. Lenovo has added convertible laptops - ranging from 11 inches to 14 inches - to its Yoga series. It has also added a built-in projector to some, making it a business-cum-entertainment machine. HP, too, has launched a wide range of Pavilion convertible laptops, the Spectre x360 convertible being the latest. It also added detachables in its Pavilion range and introduced the Elite X2 with premium specifications. Dell has its Inspiron range of convertibles and the XPS 12 as the detachable variant. As its tablet sales are declining, Apple, too, has launched the iPad Pro with optional smart keyboard that snaps to the iPad magnetically.
From high-end hybrids to budget 2-in-1s, manufacturers are going all out. Micromax Laptab, a Windows 10 tablet with detachable keyboard running on Intel Atom quad core processor, costs Rs 14,999, while a Lenovo Yoga 3 convertible with a Intel Core i7 processor comes for Rs 74,490. "There are two kinds of devices in the market - high-end devices in the range of Rs 70,000 -Rs 80,000 with core i5 or i7 and those that are not so expensive and fulfil your desire of owning a 2-in-1, but come with old generation processors. Vendors have realised that they need to create an interest in the market by introducing 2-in-1s at different price points," says Vishal Tripathi, Research Director, Gartner.
Despite all the buzz, Akhilesh Tuteja, Partner and Head, IT Advisory Services, KPMG in India, believes laptops are here to stay. "The laptop market is likely to converge towards hybrid a little, but not substantially. People moved from desktop to laptop easily not because they were looking at mobility, but because the cost of a laptop came close to that of a desktop. Likewise, only those looking at content creation on high-end tablets will consider hybrids," he says.
Consumers could be wary of investing in yet another new device, having burnt their fingers with lowcost tablets that did not live up to the hype. Also, only a limited number of hybrids support SIM cards for connectivity on the move, which could be another hurdle for the growth of this category. But the overall outlook for hybrids seems positive. "We expect detachables shipments to almost double in 2016 and convertibles to clock healthy double-digit growth in India," says Karthik J, Senior Market Analyst, Client Devices, IDC India.
