Several brand vendors including Samsung Electronics and Acer have released 8-inch tablets in light of the good sales performance for the 7.9-inch iPad mini and in order to avoid intense price competition with 7-inch models. However, the vendors' component orders for their 8-inch tablets have recently started dropping as the devices' sales are falling short of original expectations, according to Taiwan-based component makers.

The vendors originally expected 8-inch tablets to be able to gradually replace 7-inch models and become the new mainstream tablet size in the market. But demand has turned out to be weak.

The average selling price (ASP) of 7-inch tablets has already arrived at around US$150 and because of the models' rapid price drops, some market watchers believe 7-inch models already account for 70% of total tablet shipments. In 2012, 8-inch models only shared less than 3% of total tablet shipments, but the percentage may surpass 10% in 2013.

8-inch tablets see weak demand
Photo: Shihmin Fu, Digitimes file photo