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Gartner: Hybrid PCs on the Up

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Global hybrid device shipments are to reach 21.5 million in 2015 Gartner reports, a 70% increase over 2014 as customers find the combination of portability, productivity and flexibility increasingly attractive.

Hybrid devicesThe "hybrid" category covers ultramobile/2-in-1 tablets and so-called hybrid ultramobiles (2-in-1 detachables and convertibles). According to the analyst hybrid utramobiles are the fastest growing mobile PC segment, with 77% shipment growth on 2015 shipments reaching 13.5m units. Meanwhile ultramobile tablet shipments should reach 8m.

Gartner adds hybrids account for 12% of 2015 mobile PC shipments, a figure set to reach 26% in 2019. The device category has seen non-stop growth since 2012, and as such 2019 sales are expected to reach 58m, up from 12.6m in 2014.

Interestingly a Q3 2014 survey of involving 21000 respondents from 5 countries (Germany, India, Brazil, China and the US) suggests 11% of tablet users, 10% of desktop PC users and 8% of notebook users are considering replacing their current device with a hybrid in the next 2 years. Hybrids are less popular in enterprise space, but Gartner believes the situation will change once migration to Windows 10 provides a better user experience complete with touch, voice and universal Windows apps.

In the 2014 vendor rankings Asus (maker of the first 2-in-1 ultramobile) is on top with 41% market share and shipments reaching 3.1m units with 263% growth. Lenovo follows with 1.9m shipments, a 331% increase thanks to strong growth in W. Europe and the US.

HP is the 3rd largest hybrid vendor (up from 7th place in 2013), with shipments reaching 800000 units. Microsoft comes 4th through the Surface, a device Gartner classifies as a tablet ultramobile.

Go Gartner Says WW Hybrid Device Shipments to Reach 21.5m in 2015