Graphic illustrates the failure of tablet mode in Windows 10

Amongst Microsoft watchers, tablet mode in Windows 10 has always been somewhat of an object of derision, particularly in contrast to the great implementation in Windows 8.1, much of which Microsoft reversed in Windows 10, to more closely cater to desktop users.

Despite this Microsoft has continued to release a very popular range of tablets which are likely mostly used in desktop mode.

The high profile of Microsoft’s Surface line and their various imitators may give the impression that 2-in-1 PCs are very popular, but a graphic posted by Canalys today shows that this is far from the case.

While laptops have made good progress replacing desktop PCs, the number of tablet PCs have shown only minimal growth over the last 3 years since the release of Windows 10, after showing strong growth over the period when Windows 8 and 8.1 was Microsoft’s latest OS.

Microsoft may be waiting for WCOS and CShell to offer a really compelling touch-first experience for Windows 10, but with this constantly receding further into the future it remains to be seen if this will ever arrive.

Do our readers think Microsoft should continue to develop tablet mode in Windows 10 while they wait for the new shell, or should they throw all their resources around bringing CShell faster? Let us know below.