Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • PC Hardware

    PC Market Struggles Through Another Tough Year in 2015

    By
    Jeff Burt
    -
    January 13, 2016
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Dell PC

      The holiday season did little to slow the decline in global PC shipments, which fell by as much as 10.6 percent in the fourth quarter and came in at fewer than 300 million for 2015 for the first time in several years, according to analysts with IDC and Gartner

      The holiday season did little to slow the decline in global PC shipments, which fell by as much as 10.6 percent in the fourth quarter and came in at fewer than 300 million for 2015 for the first time in several years, according to analysts with IDC and Gartner.

      In numbers released Jan. 12, Gartner analysts said shipments fell 8.3 percent in the fourth quarter over the same period in 2014, while IDC pegged the decline at 10.6 percent, to 71.9 million units. Most of the leading PC vendors saw shipments fall, though both analyst firms noted that Apple’s shipments increased 2.8 percent, marking another move forward in a contracting and competitive worldwide PC market.

      Gartner analysts said that for the entire year, PC shipments fell 8 percent over 2014, to 288.7 million units. IDC analysts said 2015 marked the first time since 2008 that shipments fell below 300 million for the year.

      The PC space continues to struggle with many of the same challenges that have dogged it since late 2011, including competition from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets—even with slowing growth in those markets—longer PC lifecycles, falling commodity prices and a strong U.S. dollar, according to IDC analysts. However, what they described as “social disruptions” in both the Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia/Pacific regions played an increasingly large role.

      “The fourth quarter of 2015 marked the fifth consecutive quarter of worldwide PC shipment decline,” Gartner Principal Analyst Mikako Kitagawa said in a statement. “Holiday sales did not boost the overall PC shipments, hinting at changes to consumers’ PC purchase behavior. On the business side, Windows 10 generally received positive reviews, but as expected, Windows 10 migration was minor in the fourth quarter as many organizations were just starting their testing period.”

      During the fourth quarter, Lenovo remained at the top of the list, with 21.4 percent of the market, according to IDC analysts. HP Inc. stayed at number two, with 19.9 percent market share and Dell had 14.1 percent. Asus and Apple tied for fourth, with 7.9 percent share. The numbers were similar to Gartner’s.

      The struggles in the PC market have had a ripple effect throughout the industry, impacting system and component makers alike and forcing them to expand their reaches into new growth areas to lessen their exposure to the PC space. Most recently, PC makers in Japan are looking at options for their businesses. Reports in December 2015 indicated that Fujitsu, Toshiba and Vaio—the PC business that spun out of Sony a year earlier—were considering merging their PC units. Soon after, Fujitsu officials announced that the company was spinning out its PC and smartphone businesses into their own companies.

      Despite another difficult year for the industry, the analysts from both firms said they expect 2016 will be better, particularly in the back end of the year. Consumers and business users—many of whom already are working on PCs that are four to five years old—will be more ready to buy new PCs running Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system and powered by Intel’s “Skylake” processors.

      “The PC market remains competitive and the economic environment weakened further with the recent drop in the Chinese stock market,” Loren Loverde, vice president of IDC’s Worldwide PC Tracker unit, said in a statement. “However, PC replacements should pick up again in 2016, particularly later in the year. Commercial adoption of Windows 10 is expected to accelerate, and consumer buying should also stabilize by the second half of the year. Most PC users have delayed an upgrade, but can only maintain this for so long before facing security and performance issues.”

      Most of those users, attracted to new, affordable systems, will buy another PC, Loverde said.

      The industry also should look to Apple for encouraging signs, according to Jay Chou, research manager for IDC’s Worldwide PC Tracker.

      “Consumer sentiment toward PCs remains a challenge, though clearly there are pockets of growth,” Chou said in a statement. “Even as mainstream desktop and notebooks see their lifetimes stretched ever longer, Apple’s emergence as a top five global PC vendor in 2015 shows that there can be strong demand for innovative, even premium-priced systems that put user experience first.”

      In numbers released Jan. 12, Gartner analysts said shipments fell 8.3 percent in the fourth quarter over the same period in 2014, while IDC pegged the decline at 10.6 percent, to 71.9 million units. Most of the leading PC vendors saw shipments fall, though both analyst firms noted that Apple’s shipments increased 2.8 percent, marking another move forward in a contracting and competitive worldwide PC market.

      Gartner analysts said that for the entire year, PC shipments fell 8 percent over 2014, to 288.7 million units. IDC analysts said 2015 marked the first time since 2008 that shipments fell below 300 million for the year.

      The PC space continues to struggle with many of the same challenges that have dogged it since late 2011, including competition from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets—even with slowing growth in those markets—longer PC lifecycles, falling commodity prices and a strong U.S. dollar, according to IDC analysts. However, what they described as “social disruptions” in both the Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia/Pacific regions played an increasingly large role.

      “The fourth quarter of 2015 marked the fifth consecutive quarter of worldwide PC shipment decline,” Gartner Principal Analyst Mikako Kitagawa said in a statement. “Holiday sales did not boost the overall PC shipments, hinting at changes to consumers’ PC purchase behavior. On the business side, Windows 10 generally received positive reviews, but as expected, Windows 10 migration was minor in the fourth quarter as many organizations were just starting their testing period.”

      During the fourth quarter, Lenovo remained at the top of the list, with 21.4 percent of the market, according to IDC analysts. HP Inc. stayed at number two, with 19.9 percent market share and Dell had 14.1 percent. Asus and Apple tied for fourth, with 7.9 percent share. The numbers were similar to Gartner’s.

      The struggles in the PC market have had a ripple effect throughout the industry, impacting system and component makers alike and forcing them to expand their reaches into new growth areas to lessen their exposure to the PC space. Most recently, PC makers in Japan are looking at options for their businesses. Reports in December 2015 indicated that Fujitsu, Toshiba and Vaio—the PC business that spun out of Sony a year earlier—were considering merging their PC units. Soon after, Fujitsu officials announced that the company was spinning out its PC and smartphone businesses into their own companies.

      Despite another difficult year for the industry, the analysts from both firms said they expect 2016 will be better, particularly in the back end of the year. Consumers and business users—many of whom already are working on PCs that are four to five years old—will be more ready to buy new PCs running Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system and powered by Intel’s “Skylake” processors.

      “The PC market remains competitive and the economic environment weakened further with the recent drop in the Chinese stock market,” Loren Loverde, vice president of IDC’s Worldwide PC Tracker unit, said in a statement. “However, PC replacements should pick up again in 2016, particularly later in the year. Commercial adoption of Windows 10 is expected to accelerate, and consumer buying should also stabilize by the second half of the year. Most PC users have delayed an upgrade, but can only maintain this for so long before facing security and performance issues.”

      Most of those users, attracted to new, affordable systems, will buy another PC, Loverde said.

      The industry also should look to Apple for encouraging signs, according to Jay Chou, research manager for IDC’s Worldwide PC Tracker.

      “Consumer sentiment toward PCs remains a challenge, though clearly there are pockets of growth,” Chou said in a statement. “Even as mainstream desktop and notebooks see their lifetimes stretched ever longer, Apple’s emergence as a top five global PC vendor in 2015 shows that there can be strong demand for innovative, even premium-priced systems that put user experience first.”

      Jeff Burt
      Jeffrey Burt has been with eWEEK since 2000, covering an array of areas that includes servers, networking, PCs, processors, converged infrastructure, unified communications and the Internet of things.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×