Data shows PC shipments are back to growth

Jul 13, 2018 06:31 GMT  ·  By

PC shipments have dropped substantially in the last years, mostly as a result of the en-masse transition to smartphones all over across the world.

But according to Gartner data, the second quarter of 2018 brought us the first growth of the PC market in six years, partially thanks to Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system.

Windows 10, which is getting updates twice every year, has generated an upgrade cycle that helps PC sales reach 62.1 million units during the quarter, which is a 1.4 percent increase from the same quarter of the previous year.

Lenovo still number one

Lenovo continues to be the leading PC maker with a market share of 21.9 percent and 13.6 million sold units, while HP comes second with the same share and 13.5 million shipped devices. Dell is third with 16.8 percent and 10.4 million units, while Apple is far behind with 7.1 percent and 4.3 million units.

Gartner, however, says it’s too early to believe that the PC market is back to recovery, as we still need to wait for more solid signs of stability. Furthermore, the analyst firm says there’s a chance sales would decline in two years when the Windows 10 upgrade cycle slows down.

“In the business segment, PC momentum will weaken in two years when the replacement peak for Windows 10 passes. PC vendors should look for ways to maintain growth in the business market as the Windows 10 upgrade cycle Tails off,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner.

Gartner explains that the strong performance in the second quarter is mostly the result of demand in the business market, which has managed to cover the losses experienced in the consumer segment. If consumer sales would also return to growth, the PC market could indeed record a massive boost, though with smartphone sales still going strong, this is unlikely to happen in the short term.