14 DAY TRIAL // Windows XP is no longer a supported operating system and this made many to purchase new computers during the first quarter of the year, according to a new report published by Gartner.
Worldwide PC shipments reached 76.6 million units in the first quarter of the year, but this still marks a 1.7 percent decline from the same period last year. Gartner claims that there still are some signs of improvements, as the decline of the PC industry is slowing down these days.
Getting back to the reasons why consumers actually purchased new PCs, Gartner says that the launch of Windows 8.1 Update or the recently-released Windows 8.1 aren’t necessarily the reasons why the PC market slowed down its decline.
The retirement of Windows XP, on the other hand, pushed users to new computers, Gartner said, as moving from the operating system launched in 2001 to a newer version usually requires hardware upgrades.
“The end of XP support by Microsoft on April 8 has played a role in the easing decline of PC shipments,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner.
“All regions indicated a positive effect since the end of XP support stimulated the PC refresh of XP systems. Professional desktops, in particular, showed strength in the quarter. Among key countries, Japan was greatly affected by the end of XP support, registering a 35 percent year-over-year increase in PC shipments. The growth was also boosted by sales tax change. We expect the impact of XP migration worldwide to continue throughout 2014.”
Windows XP’s market share is slowly dropping, but Microsoft’s ancient platform still remains the world’s second most-used operating system on the desktop. Approximately 28 percent of the desktop computers worldwide are running it right now, even though support is no longer offered, but Microsoft warns that everyone should upgrade as soon as possible in order to avoid getting hacked.
Microsoft claims that Windows 8.1 is the best choice for all those who decide to move to a more secure operating system, as it packs not only a secure feature package that could block incoming attacks, but also modern tools that could help you make the most of today’s technologies.
Windows 8.1 has recently received a major set of improvements called Windows 8.1 Update that comes with plenty of changes aimed at the traditional desktop computer, so the PC market decline is very likely to slow down even more in the coming months.