The tablet market is on the brink of total implosion, but where could it possibly go from here? There are a few conceivable escape routes, but ones that we think can only offer some temporary respite to a breed of device that is destined to fall down at the knees of the smartphone. New research shows that global tablet shipments in Q2 2016 came in at 38.7 million units, down 12.3% from 44.1 million units in the same period last year, according to research from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, based in the UK. Of course, the first company that comes to mind here is Apple, with the huge implications the declining market will have on…