The tablet market, according to IDC, is forecast to grow 19.4 per cent in 2014 – but it’s a sharp drop from the 51.6 per cent growth rate seen in 2013.

In fact, the market research firm revised its prediction for tablet growth in 2014, cutting it by 3.6 percentage points from its previous forecast for the year. The new figure equates to 260.9 million units shipped worldwide this year.

IDC made the reduction largely on account of consumers holding on longer to their existing devices.

“After years of strong growth, we expect the white-box tablet market to slow in 2014 as consumers move to higher-end devices that work better and last longer,” said IDC’s Tom Mainelli, program vice president, devices & displays.

“In mature markets, where many buyers have purchased higher-end products from market leaders, consumers are deciding that their current tablets are good enough for the way they use them. Few are feeling compelled to upgrade the same way they did in years past, and that’s having an impact on growth rates.”

Slowing down the growth rate further, said IDC, is a bottoming out in the decline of ASPs (average selling prices) as consumers move from “ultra-low cost” products toward devices that last longer.

IDC expects tablet ASPs to decline 3.6 per cent this year, compared to a 14.6 per cent drop in 2013.