Here’s some bad news for PC makers. Global PC shipments fell by 1.3 per cent to 62.9 million in the third quarter compared to the same period in the previous year. This dip follows three consecutive quarters of year-on-year growth for the PC market.
Mikako Kitagawa, Director Analyst at Gartner, attributed the decline to several factors. “Despite the availability of Windows-based AI PCs for both Arm and x86, these devices have not yet stimulated significant demand,” she explained. “Buyers are still awaiting clear demonstrations of their benefits and business value.”
Kitagawa also noted that the anticipated surge in demand for Windows PC refreshes, driven by the impending end of Windows 10 support in 2025, did not fully materialise in the third quarter. This was partly due to economic challenges in certain regions.
Despite the setback, Gartner maintains a positive outlook for the PC market. “The overall trajectory remains on a recovery path,” Kitagawa assured. “We anticipate increased uptake towards the end of 2024 and more robust growth in 2025 when the PC refresh cycle reaches its peak.”
The top four vendor rankings remained unchanged from the previous year, with Lenovo, HP Inc., Apple, and Acer all experiencing year-over-year growth. Conversely, Dell and ASUS saw a decline in shipments.
Regional performance
The U.S. market bucked the global trend, posting a 5.6 per cent growth with over 17 million PCs shipped. This was attributed to stable macroeconomic conditions and strong demand from the public and education sectors.
The Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region experienced its first decline after three-quarters of growth, with shipments decreasing by 1.5%. This was attributed to temporary factors such as political elections and major sporting events.
The Asia-Pacific market saw an 8.5 per cent decline, primarily due to continued weakness in China, where shipments fell by 10 per cent due to reduced demand from government and state-owned enterprises.
In a positive development, Japan recorded its first double-digit year-over-year growth in PC shipments in three years, driven by businesses preparing for the Windows 10 end-of-support deadline.
Overall, while the third quarter of 2024 brought a slight downturn in worldwide PC shipments, industry analysts remain optimistic about the market’s long-term recovery and growth prospects.