Tablet demand expected to fall 10-20% in 2016

Sources in the Taiwanese chip supply chain told DigiTimes that demand for tablets is expected to weaken further. Some chip suppliers are phasing out their tablet IC business as tablet sales are falling like a rock. Global tablet sales are expected to decline 10-20 percent in 2016, and sales of Android-based tablets are anticipated to fall from 160 million units in 2015 to 120-130 million units in 2016. Part of the reason for the tablet's demise is the rising popularity of large-size smartphones.

More international vendors have moved to leave the tablet-IC market because of low prices which will yield them low profits, the sources observed. In addition to weak demand, price competition among tablet chip providers remains intense, the sources said.

On the other hand, MediaTek has seen its shipments for tablets continue to grow, the sources noted. The Taiwan-based company aims to ship 45 million tablet chips in 2015.