Global PC market will still see growth in 2024
Tablets to lead the charge with near double-digit growth
The global PC market is set to increase 3.8 per cent in 2024, reaching 403.5 million units, according to the latest forecast from IDC.
The predictions include shipments for PCs (desktops, notebooks, and workstations) and tablets.
Driven by the boom in AI PC marketing and the approaching end of support for Windows 10, PCs have dominated the discussion this year.
AI PCs have been on everyone’s lips recently and are the source of many people’s expectations, with Gartner also predicting shipment growth of 165.5 per cent next year.
Tablets were not to be outdone, far from it, as shipments are set to rise by 9.8 per cent this year, way beyond the mild 0.8 per cent growth in PCs.
But 2025 might be the comeback year for personal computers, as commercial upgrades from Windows 10 to Windows 11 are set to drive a 4.3 per cent increase in shipments.
Despite the interest and frenzy around AI and on-device AI capabilities, many corporate budgets are facing challenging macroeconomic conditions.
“There seems to be a big disconnect between supply and demand as PC and platform makers are gearing up for AI PCs and tablets to be the next big thing, but the lack of clear use cases and a bump in average selling prices has buyers questioning the utility,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager with IDC's worldwide mobile device trackers.
Some major players in the industry, such as HP, are planning on making AI PCs more available for business users in 2025.
“Our general strategy is we innovate in the premium segment, and we make it mainstream. And you’ll see a lot of that mainstreaming happening [next] year,” said Alex Cho, president of HP’s personal systems division, in an interview with CRN US back in September.
“It’s now up to Microsoft, Apple, and Google to prove the need for locally processed AI to avoid a backlash from hardware makers and end users.”
The commercial segment is also expected to be a positive asset within the personal computing device categories, with a forecasted growth of 5.1 per cent in 2025.
“Commercial Windows PC replacements have been particularly pronounced in Japan recently and will continue there in the upcoming quarters,” says Bryan Ma, VP of devices research at IDC.
“Another notable bright spot is the rise of tablets from Chinese phone vendors, which has found a sweet spot of quality products below $300 (£235) and should continue to propel the markets in both China and many parts of Asia.”