KUCHING: The ongoing surge in PC demand is expected to continue as work from home and remote education needs mix with the holiday spending season.
According to a new International Data Corporation (IDC) forecast, shipments of desktop and notebook PCs will grow 18.2 per cent year over year in the fourth quarter of 2020 (4Q20), followed by 1.4 per cent growth in 2021.
It pointed out that the popularity of mobile devices is apparent with notebook PCs expected to grow 26.4 per cent year over year in 4Q20 and 3.2 per cent in 2021 while desktop PCs would decline in both periods. Looking beyond 2021, IDC expected PC shipments would eventually slow and experience some declines, but it noted that the pandemic has infused the market with new energy.
Source: IDC 2020
“The momentum in the PC market has been impressive to say the least,” said IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers programme vice president Ryan Reith.
“Earlier this year it seemed like this would be a six-month bump to the industry, but as we look at the supply chain pipeline into 2021, it’s clear that the surge has more legs.
“The education backlog remains extensive and many school districts around the world are doing everything they can to secure inventory. At the same time consumers seem to be buying all ranges of notebook PCs from low-end entry level systems to high-end gaming machines. It is important to note that all of this is happening at a time when other device categories like smartphones, PC monitors, TVs, and gaming consoles are also growing. A clear shift in consumer spend has happened.”
IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers research manager Jitesh Ubrani added, “Not only do we expect more PCs to ship this year and next, but the fundamental shift in everyone’s workflow is also expected to have a lasting impact on the PC market in 2022 and beyond.”
The ongoing surge in PC demand is expected to continue as work from home and remote education needs mix with the holiday spending season. – Bernama photo
Ubrani said: “Longer term forecasts for PC shipments and average selling prices have increased as households inch towards one PC per person while buying PCs further up the stack.”
The tablet market has also experienced growth resulting from the Covid-19 lockdowns and IDC expected total tablet shipments to grow 10 per cent year over year in 2020.
It also noted that most of the demand has been for detachable tablets led convincingly by Apple’s iPad lineup. In many emerging markets the education backlog for devices includes tablets, specifically Android products given their very
low average selling prices compared to PCs or other tablet platforms.
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