PC (desktop, notebook and workstation) shipments in mainland China declined 26 percent in Q4 2022, research firm Canalys said.
Desktop (including desktop workstation) shipments in China dropped 34 percent to 3.7 million units in Q4.
Notebook shipment (including mobile workstations) in China fell 22 percent to 8.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Tablet shipments in China in Q4 rose 39 percent to 7.5 million units.
For 2022, PC (desktop, notebook and workstation) shipments in China dropped 15 percent to 48.5 million units.
Tablet shipments in China rose 6 percent to 24 million units in 2022.
“We expect the android tablet space to see even more intense competition as those new entrants are ambitious in snapping up the market to pave the road of their connective ecosystem strategies,” said Canalys Analyst Emma Xu.
Canalys expects PC (desktop, notebook and workstation) shipments to stabilize in 2023, with around 48.3 million shipments to maintain a similar shipment level to 2022.
The commercial sector of PC business will bounce by 10 percent in 2023 thanks to the gradual recovery of the local economy and business activities.
The consumer PC segment will experience a 9 percent drop, as recovery is not expected until the fourth quarter.
Canalys expects desktops (including desktop workstations) to grow by 15 percent in 2023, to reach 17.3 million units, while notebooks (including mobile workstations) will decline by 7 percent to 30.9 million units.
The tablet business in China is set to drop by 8 percent to 22.1 million in 2023, as commercial adoption has yet to be developed.
Windows still dominates in desktop, but there is a looming threat from home grown OSs. So far these have failed to attract consumers despite a strong push, due to their limited software compatibility and efficiency. In the notebook segment,
Apple’s Macbook (2023) and its efforts to push into enterprises will enhance the MacOS market share with nearly 16 percent shipment growth expected in 2023. Canalys forecasts that iPadOS and Andriod will see a decline of 18 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
Canalys expects China’s PC market to return to moderate growth in 2024 as PC (desktop, notebook and workstation) and tablet categories will grow by 7 percent and 1 percent over 2023.