The global PC market showed encouraging signs of life in Q2 this year, delivering 3.4% year-on-year growth in worldwide shipments of desktops and notebooks according to research firm Canalys.
This growth was primarily driven by a 4% increase in notebook shipments, which totaled 50 million units. Desktops, making up 20% of the total market, saw a modest 1% growth, amounting to 12.8 million units. The market’s momentum is expected to continue, fueled by the transition to Windows 11 and the adoption of AI-capable PCs.
Lenovo retained the number one spot in the global PC market, achieving 4% annual growth with shipments of 14.7 million units in Q2 2024. HP was not far behind with 13.7 million units, while Dell came in third with 10.1 million units, representing a 2% year-on-year decline.
Apple increased its volumes by 6% to 5.5 million units, and Asus blew past Acer into fifth place by delivering a 17% increase to 4.5 million units thanks to the success of its gaming PCs.
Ishan Dutt, Principal Analyst at Canalys, expressed optimism about the prospects for future PC market growth, commenting: “The market turnaround is coinciding with exciting announcements from vendors and chipset manufacturers as their AI PC roadmaps transition from promise to reality. The quarter culminated with the launch of the first Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon processors and more clarity around Apple’s AI strategy with the announcement of the Apple Intelligence suite of features for Mac, iPad and iPhone. Beyond these innovations, the market will start to benefit even more from its biggest tailwind - a ramp-up in PC demand driven by the Windows 11 refresh cycle. The vast majority of channel partners surveyed by Canalys in June indicated that Windows 10 end-of-life is likely to impact customer refresh plans most in either the second half of 2024 or the first half of 2025, suggesting that shipment growth will only gather steam in upcoming quarters.”
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