Tablet shipments worldwide will continue to grow this year, but not as quickly as previously expected, according to a forecast released Friday.

After four years of double- and triple-digit growth, worldwide tablet shipments this year will grow by just 6.5% over last year, according to IDC. The research firm had previously forecast 12.1% growth.

The tablet market is maturing and long-term trends are becoming clearer, said Jean Philippe Bouchard, research director for tablets.

More money is being spent on cheap laptops, smartphones or wearables, and people are keeping tablets longer than expected, Bouchard said.

“We originally thought the [ownership cycle] was two years. We realized it was closer to three years,” he said.

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