For now, PCs are the most commonly bought internet devices - but by 2013, they'll be outsold by tablets and other net-connected devices such as internet TVs. That's the latest finding by research firm IHS iSuppli, which predicts that combined sales of set-top boxes, games consoles, tablets, Blu-Ray players and digital media adapters will rise from 161 million units last year to 504 million units in 2013. PC sales, on the other hand, will grow by a smaller amount: from 300 million units to just under 450 million. The firm says tablets will have the strongest growth rates over the next few years as iPads, Android tablets and other media tablets replace PCs for many everyday activities.
That's good news for tablet fans, but it's particularly good news for Apple: according to analysts at Gartner, the lion's share of the tablet market will belong to Apple for at least the next five years. Apple's iOS accounted for 83.9% of the tablet market last year and is forecasted to be 68.7% this year as Android becomes more popular. Gartner predicts 63.2% in 2012 and 47.1% in 2015.
It's worth pointing out that that shrinking market share is against a background of massive market growth, so Apple's drop in market share will be more than compensated by an increase in overall tablet numbers. The iPad is already more profitable for Apple than its traditional Mac computer business, and its near-total grip on the tablet market is proving hard to shift. The Financial Times reports that Apple is now worth more than $335 billion, and "there is every reason to believe that Apple's dizzying rise will eventually take it past $400bn and could even see it approach the $500bn-plus that Microsoft reached during the last tech bubble." If we keep taking the tablets, Apple will keep taking the bulk of the profits.
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