The latest IDC report said personal computing (PC) device shipments in 2024 will be achieving 2.6 percent growth to 398.9 million units.
Traditional PC market will remain flat with 261 million units. Tablet market is expected to see a 7.2 percent growth, driven by a refresh cycle and project investments.
Global PC shipments, excluding China, are set to grow by 2.8 percent, while China’s market faces challenges due to economic concerns. However, tablet demand in China remains strong, bolstered by Huawei’s efforts. Emerging markets, particularly in Asia Pacific, are expected to see increased adoption of newer tablet models with enhanced features.
In 2025, the PC market is projected to grow 4.3 percent, spurred by the end of support for Windows 10. This refresh cycle is expected to benefit Apple, which may see its market share increase to 10.2 percent by 2026.
AI integration in PCs is a key future trend, with North America, Asia Pacific, and parts of Europe leading AI PC adoption. However, AI PCs are yet to become a major purchase driver, with businesses opting for them more for future-proofing than immediate utility, Jitesh Ubrani, research manager, Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, said.
As AI capabilities become more widespread, premium devices with NPUs (Neural Processing Units) will drive up average selling prices, with a long-term shift towards AI-enabled PCs expected to dominate the market, IDC said.
Meanwhile, Gartner said worldwide shipments of AI PCs are projected to total 114 million units in 2025, an increase of 165.5 percent from 2024.
Gartner forecasts AI PCs will represent 43 percent of all PC shipments by 2025, up from 17 percent in 2024. The demand for AI laptops is projected to be higher than that of AI desktops, with shipments of AI laptops to account for 51 percent of total laptops in 2025.
Gartner predicts that by 2026, AI laptops will be the only choice of laptop available to large businesses, up from less than 5 percent in 2023.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
