BYOD (bring your own device) will push the number of computing devices bought by consumers to grow from 65 percent in 2013 to 72 percent in 2017.
This signifies the growing importance of designing for the consumer inside the enterprise, Gartner said on Monday.
Gartner says devices (PCs, tablets and mobile phones) will reach 2.35 billion units in 2013, up 5.9 percent from 2012.
The growth will be driven by sales in tablets, smartphones, and to a lesser extent, ultramobiles, as PC shipments are on the decline.
Traditional PC (desk-based and notebook) shipments will reach 305 million units in 2013, down 10.6 percent from 2012.
The PC market including ultramobiles will dip 7.3 percent in 2013.
Tablet shipments are expected to reach 202 million units, up 67.9 percent.
Mobile phone market will grow 4.3 percent, with volume of more than 1.8 billion units.
Table 1: Worldwide Devices Shipments by Segment (Thousands of Units)
| Device Type | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| PC (Desk-Based and Notebook) | 341,273 | 305,178 | 289,239 |
| Ultramobile | 9,787 | 20,301 | 39,824 |
| Tablet | 120,203 | 201,825 | 276,178 |
| Mobile Phone | 1,746,177 | 1,821,193 | 1901,188 |
| Total | 2,217,440 | 2,348,497 | 2,506,429 |
Source: Gartner (June 2013)
Demand for ultramobiles (which includes Chromebooks, thin and light clamshell designs, and slate and hybrid devices running Windows 8) will come from upgrades of both notebooks and premium tablets, such as the Apple iPad or Galaxy Tab10.1.
Ultramobile devices are drawing demand away from other devices. This will be even more evident in the fourth quarter of 2013 when the combination of new design based on Intel processors Bay Trail and Haswell running on Windows 8.1 will hit the market. Although these devices will only marginally help overall sales volumes initially, they are expected to help vendors increase average selling prices (ASPs) and margins.
The tablet and smartphone markets are facing some challenges as these devices gain longer life cycles. There has also been a shift as many consumers go from premium tablets to basic tablets.
The share of basic tablets is expected to increase faster than anticipated, as sales of the iPad Mini already represented 60 percent of overall iOS sales in the first quarter of 2013.
