Google’s Tablet CTO Rich Miner expects the tablet market to grow and already sees the time when its sales will overtake laptops is not far off. The company has requested the development of more applications created specifically for tablets with the Android operating system.
The tablet market experiences renewed momentum since the start of the pandemic. Last year, 158 million tablet units were sold worldwide, 11% more than before than those that were marketed in 2019, according to data from Canalys.
Google, creator of the Android operating system, used by both mobile phones and tablets, has wondered if the current one is “time to think tablets first” on his last broadcast of the program The Android Showaimed at developers of the ecosystem.
Google Tablets CTO Rich Miner believes “there’s going to be a sorpasso in the not too distant future, when tablets will sell more units per year than laptops“.
Miner has referenced the sales data for tablets in the year 2020, when these devices first approached the data for laptops, their most direct rival.
“I believe that once that barrier is overcome, there will be no going back.“, has valued the Google executive, who has also addressed the advancement of the Android tablet market, since its inception in 2011.
In its initial period, the tablets were specially oriented to the consumption of audiovisual contentthanks to the use of larger screens than mobile phones and its easily transportable format.
“This was maintained for a long period of time and the growth of tablets practically stagnated.“, Miner has highlighted.
However, the executive has focused on a current change in trend, which began in the second half of 2019, in which market growth accelerated and usage of compatible keyboards increased with tablets.
“The idea is that tablets began to be much better for tasks beyond content consumption, and that they were being used for creativity and productivity and that more devices and screens were needed for this.“, has argued the CTO of Google Tablets.
Miner has also targeted Android app developers, who has demanded a greater commitment to the creation of apps specifically for tablets.
“I think there’s going to be another big wave of apps thinking about tablets first. What can be done with a larger screen that could not be done with a product connected to a keyboard?“, has added the director.
Changes in the tablet market
Last 2021, global tablet sales down 1.6% compared to the year of the extension of the Covid-19, in which the historical record of sales of these products in the world was reached, according to the Canalys report.
During the past year, Apple led the global market, with 16.4 million iPads sold in the world, followed by Samsung (6.8 million units), Lenovo, Amazon and Huawei.
Google has opted for the tablet market with the development of Android 12L, a new version of its operating system that specifically targets this category of devices. It will launch in 2022 and is currently in beta.
This article was published in Business Insider Spain by Roberto Corrales.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism