Worldwide PC shipments totaled 61.1 million units in the second quarter of 2017, a 4.3 percent decline from the second quarter of 2016, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. The PC industry is in the midst of a 5 year slump, and this is the 11th straight quarter of declining shipments. Shipments in the second quarter of this year were the lowest quarter volume since 2007.
“Higher PC prices due to the impact of component shortages for DRAM, solid state drives (SSDs) and LCD panels had a pronounced negative impact on PC demand in the second quarter of 2017,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner “The approach to higher component costs varied by vendor. Some decided to absorb the component price hike without raising the final price of their devices, while other vendors transferred the costs to the end-user price.”
However, in the business segment, vendors could not increase the price too quickly, especially in large enterprises where the price is typically locked in based on the contract, which often run through the quarter or even the year,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “In the consumer market, the price hike has a greater impact as buying habits are more sensitive to price increases. Many consumers are willing to postpone their purchases until the price pressure eases.”
HP Inc. reclaimed the top position from Lenovo in the worldwide PC market in the second quarter of 2017 (see Table 1). HP Inc. has achieved five consecutive quarters of year-over-year growth. Shipments grew in most regions, and it did especially well in the U.S. market where its shipments growth far exceeded the regional average.
Table 1: Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q17 (Thousands of Units)
Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premiums (such as Microsoft Surface), but not Chromebooks or iPads. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to totals shown due to rounding.
Source: Gartner (July 2017)
Lenovo’s global shipments declined 8.4 percent in the second quarter of 2017, after two quarters of growth. Lenovo recorded year-over-year shipment declines in all key regions. Ms. Kitagawa said the 2Q17 results could reflect Lenovo’s strategic shift from unit share gains to margin protection. The strategic balance between share gain and profitability is a challenge for all PC vendors.
Dell achieved five consecutive quarters of year-on-year global shipment growth, as shipments increased 1.4 percent in 2Q17. Dell has put a high priority on PCs as a strategic business. Among the top three vendors, Dell is the only vendor which can supply the integrated IT needs to businesses under the Dell Technologies umbrella of companies.
In the U.S., PC shipments totaled 14 million units in the second quarter of 2017, a 5.7 percent decline from the second quarter of 2016 (see Table 2). The U.S. market declined due to weak consumer PC demand. The business market has shown some consistent growth, while early indicators suggest that spending in the public sector was on track with normal seasonality as the second quarter is typically the peak PC procurement season. However, the education market was under pressure from strong Chromebook demand.
The Chromebook market has been growing much faster than the overall PC market. Gartner does not include Chromebook shipments within the overall PC market, but it is moderately impacting the PC market. Worldwide Chromebook shipments grew 38 percent in 2016, while the overall PC market declined 6 percent.
“The Chromebook is not a PC replacement as of now, but it could be potentially transformed as a PC replacement if a few conditions are met going forward,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “For example, infrastructure of general connectivity needs to improve; mobile data connectivity needs to become more affordable; and it needs to have more offline capability.”
Table 2: Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q17 (Thousands of Units)
Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premiums (such as Microsoft Surface), but not Chromebooks or iPads. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to totals shown due to rounding.
Source: Gartner (July 2017)
PC shipments in EMEA totaled 17 million units in the second quarter of 2017, a 3.5 percent decline year over year. There were mixed results across various countries. Uncertainty around the U.K. elections meant some U.K. businesses delayed buying, especially in the public sector. In France, consumer confidence rose more than expected after Emmanuel Macron was elected president, however spending on PCs remains sluggish. PC shipments increased in Germany as businesses invest in Windows 10 based new hardware, and the Russian market continued to show improvement driven by economic stabilization.
In Asia/Pacific, PC shipments surpassed 21.5 million units in the second quarter of 2017, down 5.1 percent from the same period last year. The PC market in this region was primarily affected by market dynamics in India and China. In India, the pent up demand after the demonetization cooled down after the first quarter, coupled with the absence of a large tender deal compared to a year ago and higher PC prices, brought about weak market growth. The China market was hugely impacted by the rise in PC prices due to the component shortage
These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner’s PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe.
Source: Gartner, Inc.
MacDailyNews Take: Expect Mac sales to pick up as Apple’s new Mac lineups have recently been significantly refreshed.
iPhones, iPads, iPods, Watches, etc. have not made me one whit less interested in desktop Macs, if only Apple would update new ones on a timely basis hat actually work for their intended market segment.
Apple has the power to generate more excitement about Macs if they actually thought about it for two seconds (instead of treating it as doomed) ands stopping the emphasis on “all you need is an iPhone or iPad”. Mobile is great but to me only augments the desktop experience.
These are the perils of being a “fan” of a brand. The brand tells you what you are to need and what you are to want. There needs to be more people like you that holds the brand to account on more stringent standards.
Problem is “most people” don’t care, and it’s those people that Apple controls
But they may not feel like they can do anything about it. This forum provides a place for people to gripe about Apple’s shortcomings as well as to praise its achievements. But does it actually impact Apple’s actions in any way? Probably not a great deal.
applecynic, you have been on this forum long enough to know that a lot of Mac users are displeased with Apple’s failure to perform with respect to desktop Macs. But Apple has promised to rebound. If the iMac Pro is any example, then the new Mac Pro is going to be awesome. That awesomeness will hopefully then trickle through the next refresh of the Mac mini and MBs and MBPs.
I am a fan of Apple without mindlessly letting Apple tell me what I want. In addition to discussions on this forum, I contact Apple directly to let them know how I feel. It may not accomplish anything, but at least I am trying. I encourage everyone else to do the same. Join a MUG and blend your voice with a larger group – perhaps that will have more impact.
Probably now already, but certainly going forward, most people in the world that have “computers” will be carrying them around(mobile). I’m talking about phones, tablets, laptops, wearables or anything else like these. Desktops are obviously on the way out(for most people in the world using a “computer”).
“Desktops are obviously on the way out(for most people in the world using a “computer”).”
No, not at all….
“Desktops are obviously on the way out…”
Only for the clueless having a lack of foresight. Not so “obvious” at all. Writers, filmmakers, creative artists, business, etc. etc. etc. will likely need desktops for the foreseeable future in addition to mobile assist.
On so many TV shows and movies, I see the characters using Apple products probably more than any other brand. I can easily understand why HP can sell more computers than Apple due to their lower pricing structure. However, that didn’t stop HP from losing huge amounts of money. Apple is at least profitable. The report leaves out tablet sales (non-desktop OS) but those tablet sales contribute to Apple’s bottom line even if they don’t count in this report.
Apple is so damn intent upon selling iPhones I’m just grateful they’re still trying to sell desktops, notebooks, and tablets although they don’t seem to be trying very hard at all. I suppose a company’s focus should always be on the product that makes them the most money. I just think Apple could easily do better if they marketed their non-iPhone products more diligently. Then again, most consumers are probably content with their $500 computers, so there may be absolutely nothing Apple can do about selling more desktop or notebook computers.
Please quote me correctly. For most people in the world. Isn’t it obvious that going forward, most people in the world that use computing devices will use mobile devices and not desktops?
I agree. The data speaks for itself:
We are well past the last great recession, but the trend in desktop and laptop sales is down. Desktops and laptops are still important devices, and will remain so for a long time. But, since the advent of the iPhone, mobile computing has exploded and untethered people from desks. A modern smartphone or tablet cannot replace a desktop or laptop for everything. But, for many people, a smartphone or a tablet suffices for a majority of computer-related activities. Smartphones and laptops also have the distinct advantages of being more mobile and, thus, more accessible than desktops or laptops. I honestly don’t use my desktop at home much at all anymore – just when I need a big display or need to type a lot. Times are changing, just as laptops overtook desktops in unit sales back in the mid-2000s. Portability rules.
a person may end up carrying or wearing all of the computing resources and storage that they need. Their personal devices will be part of a network to access cloud resources and local resources. You will still use a keyboard and mouse and large display at your desk, but your iPhone may simply “plug in” or (more likely) wirelessly connect to those resources, sort of like the dumb terminals of the 1980s. There will be no need to duplicate computing resources when you can carry around a lot of computing power in a watch or phone and access a lot more via the cloud, when necessary.
If you carry around and/or network to your computing and storage resources, then only the user interfaces (display, keyboard, mouse) and specialty peripherals remain. You won’t need two or three or four computers.
Very well put!
If you check out the IDG data you’ll find they estimate the Mac has actually gained in market share over 2016 by 1.7%. It’s gnarly old Gartner foisting the negative numbers.
http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS42882717
Meanwhile: There’s nothing like REAL data for creating REAL analysis. We wait…