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Worldwide PC Shipments Fall Amid Recovery | Newztalkies.com

Pradeep KumarOctober 10, 2024

The global PC Shipments market experienced a slight decline in shipments during the third quarter of 2024, despite the economy showing signs of recovery. According to preliminary data from IDC, the worldwide shipments of traditional PCs dropped by 2.4%, from 70.5 million units in Q3 2023 to 68.8 million units in Q3 2024. This dip occurred despite growing demand from both consumer and commercial sectors.

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Factors Behind the Decline in PC Shipments

Rising costs and inventory replenishment in the previous quarter were cited as key reasons for the drop in shipments. After a surge in sales, the market faced a slower sales cycle. This suggests that many companies had stocked up on devices earlier, leading to reduced demand in the third quarter.

Despite the decline, Jitesh Ubrani, research manager at IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, noted that PC demand remains strong. “Demand, without a doubt, has returned for PCs among consumers and commercial buyers,” he said. Ubrani also highlighted the potential growth of AI-enabled PCs, such as Qualcomm’s Copilot+ models and devices from Intel, AMD, and Apple, which are expected to drive the premium segment in the coming months.

Leading PC Manufacturers in Q3 2024

Lenovo continued to dominate the global PC market in Q3 2024, shipping 16.5 million units, capturing 24% of the total market share. This was an increase from the 22.7% market share it held in the previous year. However, other major manufacturers saw declines in shipments:

Dell Technologies shipped 9.8 million units, down from 10.3 million in Q3 2023.
Apple experienced a significant drop, shipping 5.3 million units compared to 7 million in the same period last year.

AI PCs Expected to Drive Future Growth

The emergence of AI-powered PCs is expected to revolutionize the market in the coming years. Linn Huang, IDC’s vice president of devices and displays, mentioned that AI is gradually becoming more prevalent but will take time to reach mass adoption. “While we expect AI to reach ubiquity by the end of the decade, the ramp-up towards the mass market will take longer than expected, well into 2026,” Huang said.

Forecast for AI PCs in 2025

According to Ranjit Atwal, senior research director at Gartner, 114 million AI PCs are expected to be shipped globally in 2025, marking a 165.5% increase from 2024. Major players like Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and Nvidia will play key roles in the rise of AI-powered PCs. Atwal also emphasized the importance of China as a critical market for PCs, particularly for Lenovo, which has a strong presence in the region and has developed its own chatbot and small language models.

Regional Market Growth and Future Outlook

Key markets such as Japan showed double-digit growth in PC shipments during Q3 2024. Other regions are expected to follow suit in the coming quarters, as the market takes a brief pause after two consecutive quarters of mild growth.

Bryan Ma, vice president at IDC’s Worldwide Device Trackers, commented, “After two quarters of mild growth, the market is taking a breather before going into the year-end buying period.”

Conclusion

Despite the overall decline in PC shipments in Q3 2024, the future looks promising for AI-driven PCs, which are expected to dominate the premium segment in the coming years. Manufacturers like Lenovo and other key players such as Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm are well-positioned to capitalize on the rise of AI technology. As always, live Newztalkies.com is dedicated to bringing you the latest insights on tech trends and developments in the PC industry.

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