The tablet market has evolved far beyond its early days as a consumption-only platform. While screen sizes beyond 13 inches often cross into laptop territory, the lower end, traditionally around 7 inches, is becoming increasingly blurred as foldable smartphones expand their reach. Tablets were once seen as the “middle ground” between smartphones and laptops. Today, tablets are establishing their own distinct identity, with artificial intelligence (AI) serving as a key catalyst in this evolution. According to Counterpoint’s Global Tablet Market Tracker, the market returned to positive growth in 2024, with AI playing a significant role in driving this momentum.
This note delves into the evolving AI-driven transformations in consumer and enterprise tablets, highlighting both current implementations and future possibilities. It is worth noting that many AI capabilities popularized in smartphones, like intelligent assistants, generative content creation and smart photography, are now expanding into tablets and benefitting from their advantages – larger screens, stylus support, better multitasking and enterprise adoption, all of which open new dimensions for AI-powered experiences.
From enhancing productivity to unlocking new forms of creative expression, AI is pushing both consumer and enterprise tablets well beyond their traditional roles. The pillars of this transformation are productivity, device performance, privacy and user experience. With growing emphasis on on-device AI processing and private computing cloud (PCC) models, brands are ensuring that innovation does not come at the cost of user trust. Counterpoint Research