
Global PC shipments grew around 3% year-over-year in Q1 2024 after eight consecutive quarters of decline due to demand slowdown and inventory correction.
| Photo Credit: MOHAMMED YOUSUF
Global PC shipments grew around 3% year-over-year in Q1 2024 after eight consecutive quarters of decline due to demand slowdown and inventory correction. The coming quarters of the year are also expected to result in 3% YoY growth largely driven by AI PC momentum, shipment recovery across sectors and fresh replacement cycles.
Riding the momentum, manufacturers are expected to promote AI PCs as their main product in the second half of 2024. The promotion of AI PCs is expected to gain further momentum as semiconductor companies prepare to launch SOCs featuring higher operations per second, research and analytics firm Counterpoint said in a press release.
In terms of market share, the top five brands retained their rankings YoY, with Lenovo and Acer remaining resilient.
While Lenovo’s PC shipments were up 8% in Q1, the brand managed to reclaim its 24% market share compared to 23% in Q1 2023.
(For top technology news of the day, subscribe to our tech newsletter Today’s Cache)
HP and Dell, with market shares of 21% and 16% respectively, remained flattish, and are waiting for North America to drive shipment growth in the coming quarters. Apple’s shipments also remained resilient with 2% growth mainly supported by the launch of their M3 base models.
The year is also expected to be the first chapter of AI PC, including desktops and laptops, with around 45% of devices shipped during the year expected to be AI-capable. Additionally, shipments and deployment of AI devices is expected to accelerate in 2025-26, along with emerging generative artificial intelligence functions and use cases supported by chip vendors’ new processor platforms, senior analyst William Li said.