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The global PC market experienced a marked decline in 2022 amid economic concerns on a global scale, new analyst numbers have stated.
The latest numbers from Channels claim that total sales of desktops and notebooks globally fell year-over-year to 285.1 million, a 16% drop from 2021.
However, the 2021 numbers were among the highest in nearly a decade, following a trend that saw significant growth in the market the previous year.
PC sales in 2022 versus before
More broadly, the 2022 numbers were higher than the pre-pandemic numbers in 2019, representing as steady growth as in the years we saw leading up to 2019.
This has led some to believe the numbers for 2020 and 2021 have been artificially inflated due to the sudden need for many to work from home or embrace hybrid working, meaning companies have been forced to invest in more mobile infrastructure.
Leading the charts in Q4 2022 was Lenovo, which shifted 15,470 laptops and desktops – 28.9% compared to Q4 2021. Second and third were HP and Dell, each down 29% respectively. % and 37.2%.
While total PC shipments in the fourth quarter in 2022 fell by an average of 28.7% compared to 2021, it’s clear that some companies were better off than others, with Dell finishing at the lower end of the scale.
While Apple reported a less significant drop, it was still down 7.5% year-over-year, resulting in a total of 7,229 shipments of its Mac lineup in Q4 2022. Overall, Apple PC shipments fell by 6.2% throughout the year.
Looking ahead, it is difficult to say whether the numbers will return to lower pre-pandemic levels, or face a less sudden drop. While there is always the possibility that even more computers will be sold in 2023 than in the previous year, the tricky outlook leaves the future looking rather uncertain for now.