Beancounters at Big G have declared that the fall of the PC is finally over and worldwide PC shipments are finally back up.
Gartner boffins declared a modest growth in PC sales of just 1.4 percent during Q2 2018, year on year, totalling 62.1 million units.
The growth was led by the market’s top five vendors – Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple and Acer Group. Gartner said as many as three out of four PCs were shipped by these firms in the second quarter of 2018. Vendors outside the top five saw a decline of 12.9 percent year on year.
Principal analyst at Gartner Mikako Kitagawa, said: “PC shipment growth in the second quarter of 2018 was driven by demand in the business market, which was offset by declining shipments in the consumer segment.”
Kitagawa added that long-held troubles in the PC market continue to be influenced by smartphones continuing to dominate consumer behaviour.
“In the consumer space, the fundamental market structure, due to changes on PC user behaviour, still remains, and continues to impact market growth.
“Consumers are using their smartphones for even more daily tasks, such as checking social media, calendaring, banking and shopping, which is reducing the need for a consumer PC.”
However, this joy is not expected to last. Even for vendors currently enjoying PC growth, Kitagawa issued a warning: “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.”
