The data indicates a 12 percent decline from year-over-year, though there were still 67 million units sold in Q4 2014. Among the speculation for the trend is that buyers are backing off from picking up a new tablet with smartphones getting bigger, like Motorola’s Nexus 6. A device of that size can make you less inclined to use a tablet that frequently. Smartphones are also cheaper than tablets when you factor in carrier subsidies. You can pick up a new one every 18 to 24 months for a substantial discount, making it more appealing to upgrade a phone while being tepid about buying a new tablet that often. It wasn’t a very compelling year for new Android tablets anyway. Samsung putting out a few minor upgrades to its Galaxy S line HTC jumping back in with its Nexus 9. Even Apple only introduced modest hardware improvements to its id Air 2. y this matters: l those bigger phones mean tablet makers may need to shift their focus to larger screens. en you have a 6-inch smartphone, there’s nearly no reason to pick up a 7-inch tablet. To encourage buyers to still want to own three devices (phone, tablet, computer) they’re going to need some serious incentives to do so.
