Dell has decided to kill off its Venue tablet-line as it diverts its focus to the promising niche of 2-in-1 hybrids. Tablets have long been considered on the brink of extinction, especially with the growing popularity of the flexible mobile Windows 10-based tablet/laptop combos.
According to Gartner, only 17% of consumers in mature markets will likely buy a tablet in the next 12 months, one of the lowest probabilities in the past decade. That is further supported by the IDC, which showed how slate tablets experienced a big annual decline of -21.1%
Dell’s decision to severe the Venue tablet line hardly comes as a surprise considering the company didn’t come out with a new model last year. The company will still continue offering tablets in the form of the 2-in-1’s though they will now be focusing on the Windows 10 operating system.
With that said, Dell has technically ended any ties with Android as far as its future devices are concerned. The only device where Dell had any mileage was through the Dell Venue 8 7000 according to Slash Gear. Other than that, Dell never really carved a name for itself when it came to Android-backed mobile solutions.
As far as existing Dell Venue product owners, the company announced that they will continue to support active warranties and service contracts until they expire according to PC world. Other than that, the company made it clear that they no longer be releasing OS upgrades.
From here, Dell will be placing more emphasis on their 2-in-1s running on Windows and the Chromebooks they have under their wing. Dell has the Chromebook 11 3120 and Chromebook 13 7310, both of which run under the Chrome OS.
This would not be the first time that Dell has killed off its Venue line. Back in 2012, the company stopped selling the Venue smartphones but later on revived brand via its tablets. As far as using Android is concerned, Dell is not completely closing the doors of making devices running on the mobile operating system in the future.
Dell has taken note that the Android-powered tablet market has become a bit congested plus the fact that focus is now on the multi-capable hybrids. Other companies like HP and Lenovo have silently killed off some tablets on their end and now Dell joins that mix.
With the Dell Venue 8 7000 considered to be one of the better tablets the company had to offer, check out the video review below.