New PC sales were boosted by XP’s retirement, the company said

Aug 28, 2014 18:27 GMT  ·  By
Lenovo is one of the companies benefiting from the recovery of the PC market
   Lenovo is one of the companies benefiting from the recovery of the PC market

The PC industry is going through harsh times in the last couple of years, but sales are slowly recovering, and partially responsible for this comeback is also Windows XP’s retirement.

Microsoft stopped providing updates and patches for Windows XP on April 8, 2014, so since then, computers still running it could easily become vulnerable if someone found an unpatched vulnerability in the operating system.

Needless to say, all these security risks and warnings coming from Microsoft and partners pushed a number of customers to new PCs, hence the slight recover in shipments.

Lenovo is one of the companies that benefitted from this growth, with statistics provided by IDC pointing to a 6.9 percent increase in the second quarter of 2014. Lenovo has revealed that its Americas business improved by 3 percent during the same period, leading to an overall market share of 12.5 percent. In the US, Lenovo now owns 11.3 percent of the market, up 1.5 percent as compared to the period last year, according to China.org.cn.

"Continuing upgrades of Windows XP systems boosted shipments in commercial portables and desktops, helping the commercial segment," Lenovo revealed.

At this point, Windows XP is said to hold a market share of 25 percent, but figures could drop in the coming months as more users complete the transition to newer operating systems.