The global PC market is getting stronger as Mac sales give Apple a huge boost. Now it’s time for AI PCs.
The PC market is poised to return to growth, according to new analyst figures.
IDC Figures claim that shipments of desktops and notebooks will increase by 3-3.4% year-on-year to 62.8-64.9 million units in Q2 2024. Portable laptops continue to lead the way, accounting for around four out of five shipments. These models will see the largest growth.
The healthy increase can be attributed to the approaching end of life of Windows 10 and the growing interest in future PCs with AI capabilities. There is also an increase in the number of Mac devices from Apple.
The PC industry is finally moving in the right direction
Ishan Dutt, Chief Analyst at Canalys, noted: “The PC industry is going from strength to strength with a third straight quarter of growth.”
The quarter ended June 30 saw the launch of the Copilot+ PCs and Apple’s plans for generative AI, which Canalys said contributed to strong sales.
While Apple’s market share continues to hover around 7-9%, the company saw a healthy increase in shipments compared to the same period in 2023. Canalys tracks the growth as 6%, IDC calculates a more optimistic growth of 20.8%. The Cupertino-based Mac maker will publish its latest quarterly report on August 1.
Ryan Reith, Group Vice President at IDC’s Worldwide Device Trackers, added: “A lot of market hype around AI PCs and a less sexy but perhaps more important commercial refresh cycle seems to be what the PC market needed.”
Looking ahead, both analysts predict interest will ramp up later this year, when Apple’s anticipated AI-enhanced hardware is met with similar buzz from Qualcomm, Intel and AMD around both consumer and commercial AI PCs.