Users are stepping away from XP, so they’re buying new PCs

Feb 21, 2014 23:46 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft’s imminent retirement of Windows XP is driving PC sales forward, according to a report released today by HP, as more users are upgrading their hardware and buying new PCs as they deploy a new Windows version.

HP today revealed that its Personal Systems division, which is in charge of laptops and desktop PCs, posted a 4 percent growth during the first quarter of 2014, partially thanks to consumers who decided to step away from Windows XP to a newer version of Windows.

“There was a bit of a tailwind on the migration from XP to Windows, but I wouldn't say that was an overwhelming factor,” HP CEO Meg Whitman explained.

“I do think there's also some net momentum in the long overdue PC refresh, and what I think commercial customers are understanding from their employees is that they may want a tablet.”

And still, Windows XP remains impressively popular 45 days before retirement, with third-party data pointing to a market share of no less than 29 percent on the desktop.