Worldwide tablet shipments will drop in 2016, but IDC expects the overall market to return to positive growth, albeit single digit, driven by growing demand for detachable devices. For this year, IDC expects that tablet shipments will be about 195 million units in 2016, down -5.9% from 2015. But detachables, this somewhat hybrid category that brings together slate tablets and PCs, is expected to grow from 16.6 million shipments in 2015 to 63.8 million in 2020.

"Beyond the growing demand for detachable devices, we're also witnessing an increase in competition within this segment that will help drive design, innovation, and a decline in average prices," said Jean Philippe Bouchard, Research Director, Tablets. "At the latest Mobile World Congress, we saw new entrants, like Alcatel and Huawei, coming from the mobile space and expanding their portfolio to address the demand for detachables. Everyone in the industry recognizes that traditional personal computers like desktops and notebooks will potentially be replaced by detachables in the coming years and this is why we will see a lot of new products being introduced this year."

The change from slate form factor to detachables will bring along two other changes to the tablet industry. First, devices with larger screen sizes (9" and above) will experience growth throughout the forecast while those under 9inches will decline. And second, Microsoft-based devices will begin taking share from the other platforms, most notably Android.

"Windows 10 seems to be making headway in both the PC and tablet markets, mainly driven by devices with larger screen sizes. Despite the free licensing on products under 9 inches the growth for Windows-based tablets will be primarily on devices with displays between 9 and 13 inches. Until we see a day where touch is introduced for Mac OS X and inroads are paved to bring Android and Chrome more closely aligned, we believe Windows remains the logical choice for detachable products, " said Ryan Reith, Program Director with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers.