Dell has confirmed it will not be launching any new tablets in its Android-based Venue family. It will concentrate its efforts on releasing Windows 10 2-in-1 devices and laptops for businesses.
According to PCWorld:
"The slate tablet market is over-saturated and is experiencing declining demand from consumers, so we've decided to discontinue the Android-based Venue tablet line," a Dell spokesman said in an e-mail."
Dell also won't be pushing out any OS updates to the Venue tablets that are already sold to customers, although it will continue to honor any currently active warranties and service contracts. Dell also has stopped selling the Android-based Wyse Cloud Connect, a tiny computer that could connect to a big screen PC or monitor.
Dell released a number of Android tablets over the past few years, including the impressive Venue 10 7000 series. The company will continue to sell Chromebooks with Google's Chrome OS.
In a company blog post{.nofollow}, Dell further explained why it is making this shift to Windows 10 2-in-1s for businesses:
According to Gartner, only 17 percent of consumer respondents in mature markets intend to buy a tablet in the next 12 months – one of the lowest percentages in the past decade. And according to IDC, last quarter pure slate tablets experienced their greatest annual decline to date of -21.1 percent. Our take – the slate tablet market is oversaturated and is experiencing declining demand from end users. Additionally, 2-in-1s with larger screens in the 10 to 13-inch range are offering a laptop-first experience with the convenience of a tablet when needed. This is where our customers are asking us to invest and innovate.Dell is repositioning its mobile products portfolio to take advantage of both the resurgence of the 2-in-1 market and the continued growth of the traditional form factor laptop. With the release of Windows 10, our 2-in-1s and laptops are positioned to take advantage of the largest growth opportunities within the personal computing space. Detachable tablets (or 2-in-1s) reached an all-time high of 8.1 million devices in the fourth quarter of 2015. They have also more than doubled their shipments since the fourth quarter of last year.
