14 DAY TRIAL // The PC market continues to go down, but after the boom that was recorded in 2020 and 2021, this isn’t necessarily surprising.
Industry experts warn the PC market has reached saturation, so the drop somehow makes sense.
New data from IDC reveals that sales of new computers fell below expectations, as they went down no less than 28.1 percent in the fourth quarter of the year. PC makers shipped only 67.2 million devices during the quarter.
“The 4Q22 shipments are comparable to the fourth quarter of 2018, when the market was constrained by Intel's supply challenges. It is clear the pandemic boom is over for the PC market, but despite recent declines, annual shipments for 2022 were well above pre-pandemic levels at 292.3 million units for the full year. However, demand remains a concern as most users have relatively new PCs and the global economy worsens,” IDC says.
Lenovo continues to be the number one PC maker worldwide with a market share of 23 percent, while HP is currently the runner-up at 19.6 percent. Dell recorded the biggest drop last quarter (down 37.2 percent0, but it managed to stay ahead of Apple.
The Cupertino-based tech giant recorded the smallest drop, as its sales went down from 7.7 million devices in Q4 2021 to 7.5 million PCs in the fourth quarter of the last year.
IDC says PC sales could once again gain traction later this year.
“Supply side activity shows many large vendors entered 2023 with a cautious outlook, but the consensus is that portions of the PC market could return to growth in late 2023 with the overall market following in 2024. The commercial segment has several drivers towards growth, including the approaching end of support for Windows 10 and a building refresh cycle, while the consumer market remains a wildcard for 2023 and beyond,” the company explains.