BlackBerry says tablets will be dead within five years

News Clare Hopping 13:56, 30 Apr 2013

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins has told the Telegraph tablets will not exist in 2018, quashing all hopes of a new PlayBook

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins has told news source the Telegraph that tablets will be dead in five years as larger screens on smartphones take over.

Heins, who always has something a little contraversial to say, told the Telegraph: 'In five years I don’t think there’ll be a reason to have a tablet anymore. Maybe a big screen in your workspace, but not a tablet as such. Tablets themselves are not a good business model.'

It's certainly true that smartphones are getting larger - just look at the Samsung Galaxy S4, set to be the biggest seller of 2013 with its 4.99-inch screen. In fact, the top devices launched so far all have screens bigger than 4-inches, showing there's definitely a switch from the 3.5-inch smartphones we've seen launch over the last couple of years.

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In January, Heins said he would only consider launching another PlayBook if it proved profitable, but now feels the market is a little too crowded for BlackBerry to bring out another tablet under the PlayBook brand.

'In five years, I see BlackBerry to be the absolute leader in mobile computing - that’s what we’re aiming for,' Heins said three months ago. 'I want to gain as much market share as I can, but not by being a copycat.'

The bold statement comes after Heins claimed BlackBerry would sell tens of millions BlackBerry Q10 devices following the success of its first weekend on sale exclusively at Selfridges.