14 DAY TRIAL // Apple's very own iPad continues to be the king of the tablet jungle, but interest in Windows tablets is growing at such a fast pace that they could soon challenge the leading position of the fruity-named company in this side of the market.
This forecast is made by analyst firm IDC, who also says that yearly sales of iPads are very likely to decline in 2015, while Windows tablets are expected to grow significantly in the next 9 months.
As a result, Windows might no longer be the underdog of the tablet industry and finally start fighting for the leading positions with iOS and Android, the two platforms that are already the clear leaders of both the tablet and the smartphone sectors.
As far as global shipments of tablets are concerned, Q4 2014 brought a decline as compared to the same period the year before, while in 2015, the industry is expected to post a growth of 2.1 percent to 234.5 million units.
Windows 10 for the win
One reason Windows is becoming more appealing to tablet buyers is the wide array of screen sizes currently available on the market, as it seems that more people are looking at bigger tablets these days.
"There still remains a portion of the market that wants to use a larger device so they can tailor their experience to the appropriate screen size," senior research analyst Jitesh Ubrani says.
And what's more, the imminent arrival of Windows 10 will also help Windows tablets attract more buyers, as Microsoft is working to make the operating system offer a similar experience across all devices, including PCs, tablets, and smartphones.
Windows 10 is scheduled to arrive in the second half of 2015, but Microsoft is said to be already working with partners to bring a new wave of devices, including tablets, to the market together with the operating system. RTM is expected to be reached in June, so manufacturers would have around 2 months to install the OS on their products in order to synchronize with Microsoft's new OS debut.