IDC: Detachables remain bright spot in declining MEA tablet market

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) tablet market declined 8.8 per cent year-on-year in the final quarter of 2015 to total 4.05 million units, according to latest figures from IDC. In 2015 as a whole, tablet shipments in MEA declined 3.1 per cent to 16.2 million units. One bright spot is detachables -- which are also regarded as an alternative to traditional notebooks because they come with a detachable keyboard. Shipments of such devices in MEA increased by 95.4 per cent year-on-year in 2015 and IDC forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.3 per cent through 2020. The company has also revised its forecast for the 2016 MEA tablet market downwards and now expects a total of 16.52 million units to be shipped for the year, representing a year-on-year growth of 2 per cent. Report