Analysts Lower Their Outlook for Android Tablets

Market research firm IDC has raised its forecast of global tablet shipments in response to strong consumer demand and upcoming product launches. IDC’s analysts expect Apple, Amazon and others to ship 117 million units this year, up 65 percent from 71 million shipped tablets in 2011.

IDC also altered its outlook for 2016. The company upped its original forecast from March 2012 by more than 30 percent to 261 million units. So everybody wins? Not exactly!

While IDC is confident about the future prospects of the tablet market as a whole, the company is less positive about Android tablets. After originally expecting Android to overtake iOS in the tablet market in 2016, IDC significantly lowered its shipment forecast for Android tablets in favour of iOS and Windows devices.