14 DAY TRIAL // A new report published by IHS covering Q3 of 2013, brings some hope for the future of PCs. Notebook shipments worldwide are estimated to have reached 47.9 million units in the period, with the numbers constituting an increase of 6% compared to the previous quarter.
This turns out to be the second largest sequential growth in the last two years. In 2011, notebook marketshare rose by 7% in the third quarter.
Regardless, the news is not all good, as the year-over-year decline in shipments is maintained. The new results showcase that the notebook market has shrunken for the fifth consecutive time year-over-year, a pattern initiated in Q2 of 2012. Compared with the same time last year, the PC market experienced a 9% drop.
Senior Principal Analyst, Computer Platforms for IHS, Craig Stice explains why PC manufacturers might feel encouraged by the quarter-over-quarter increase, even with the overall bad news.
"Amid the onslaught of tablets, the notebook PC market now is desperately seeking any reason for optimism – and the sequential growth in the third quarter is offering a ray of hope."
"However, even with a respite from the sequential decline and a few other hopeful developments, the mobile PC business is still on track to decline for the full year of 2013."
"This means the notebook market will contract for the second consecutive year, a proposition that once would have been unthinkable for the formerly high-flying mobile PC business."
However, IHS says all is not lost. Intel’s new Haswell processors and Bay Trail chips will offer considerable upgrades to Ultrabook models, by offering better battery life and increased performance. Ultrabooks might constitute the notebook market’s best hope of claiming back some of its user fan base.
Now the holiday quarter is coming closer and closer, so Q4 shipments could prove crucial to notebook makers. But for the time being, 2013 remains a disappointing year for the overall PC market.
“All hopes are now pinned on the fourth quarter, which could end up as one of the most important holiday seasons yet for the PC industry.”
“With various new technologies launching, the PC trade believes it is playing its best hand in years. Many eyes will be watching to see how the rest of the year – to say nothing of 2014 – turns out.”