While global shipments for 2-in-1 devices have been growing steadily in the second quarter of 2016, the growth was far insufficient to cover decreases in notebook and tablet shipments, according to sources from supply chain makers.

Although several first-tier PC vendors such as Lenovo, Asustek Computer and Acer have entered the smartphone market looking for business opportunities, they have not seen much growth recently, while Lenovo's operations have actually been seriously impacted by its smartphone business.

With consumers and enterprises having no need to replace their existing notebook products, brand vendors' new inexpensive products or high-end ultra-thin models are both seeing difficulty attracting sales. Although demand for 2-in-1 devices and gaming notebooks has been picking up over the past year, their growths are still not enough to fill the gap from the traditional notebook sector.

For the third quarter, most brand vendors will continue to reduce tablet orders and are conservative about traditional notebook shipments during the period.