GFK survey on the use of tablets

It wasn't that long ago that people were puzzling over what applications the new touchscreen could be used for. Four years ago, it was still a completely niche product, but today people are busy surfing the Internet, writing e-mails and playing games on their tablets - even while watching TV. Looking at photos is very popular with older people, while YouTube and social media like Facebook are very popular with younger people.

More than one million tablets

Media tablets are currently the growth product in home electronics. Sales in Switzerland have more than doubled every year for the past two years. In the current year, more than one million devices will be sold. A media tablet is already in use in every third household.

Smaller screens in demand

The sharp drop in average prices, which was made possible not least by the trend toward smaller screens, contributed to the high penetration. While virtually all tablets were larger than eight inches last year, the new segment of six to eight inch screens accounted for 40 percent of sales in the first half of the year. The new "phablets" are now to close the last gap between smartphones and tablets.

The boom continues

Media tablets are a strategic focus for all major home electronics manufacturers and prices will continue to drop. Apple's dominance has been broken in the meantime and the competitors around Android and Microsoft are also betting on tablets.