Global shipments of personal computers (PCs) experienced a notable 3% increase in the second quarter of 2024, reflecting a rising demand for AI-capable devices. This growth, highlighted by preliminary data from research firm IDC, marks a significant recovery in the PC market, which had been in decline for the past two years. Notably, tech behemoth Apple recorded the highest growth among PC manufacturers.
According to the report by the IDC, the global PC market’s resurgence is evident with shipments reaching 64.9 million units in the quarter ending in June. This continued growth follows a period of downturn, marking the second consecutive quarter of recovery. The pandemic had initially spurred a buying spree, but subsequent periods saw a decline as consumers and businesses paused on replacements. Now, as the market recovers, the demand for advanced, AI-capable PCs is driving growth. Notebooks constituted the majority of the shipments for the second quarter of the year, amounting to 50 million units, clocking a growth of 4%.
“The PC industry is going from strength to strength with a third consecutive quarter of growth,” Ishan Dutt, Principal Analyst at Canalys, commented on the matter. “The market turnaround is coinciding with exciting announcements from vendors and chipset manufacturers as their AI PC roadmaps transition from promise to reality. The quarter culminated with the launch of the first Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon processors and more clarity around Apple’s AI strategy with the announcement of the Apple Intelligence suite of features for Mac, iPad and iPhone. Beyond these innovations, the market will start to benefit even more from its biggest tailwind - a ramp-up in PC demand driven by the Windows 11 refresh cycle. The vast majority of channel partners surveyed by Canalys in June indicated that Windows 10 end-of-life is likely to impact customer refresh plans most in either the second half of 2024 or the first half of 2025, suggesting that shipment growth will only gather steam in upcoming quarters.”
The IDC report reveals that one of the major beneficiaries of the PC market’s recovery is Apple. According to the report, Apple’s shipments surged by an impressive 20.8% year-over-year in Q2’24, the highest growth among all major PC makers, shopping a total of 5.5 million units. Canalys data corroborates this trend, reporting a 6% annual growth in Apple’s Mac shipments. This performance strengthens Apple’s position in the global PC market, propelling it to a market share of 8.8%, according to Canalys.
Lenovo Group maintained its position as the market leader with a 22.7% share and total shipments of 14.7 million during the quarter. It is followed closely by HP with a market share of 21.1% and 13.7 million shipments, and Dell Technologies. The enterprise, despite a slight 2.4% decline in shipments, held a market share of 15.5% and shipped 10.1 million units during the period. Next comes Acer Group, which clocked a market share of 6.8% and a total of 4.4 million shipments during Q2 2024, while other vendors constituted the remaining 16.3 million shipments and commanded a market share of 25.1%.
The future looks promising for the PC market, bolstered by anticipated chip launches from industry giants like Qualcomm, AMD, and Intel. These advancements are expected to further stimulate demand, particularly for AI-optimized PCs. Canalys highlights that the introduction of AI PCs and the commercial refresh cycle are pivotal in rejuvenating the market, suggesting sustained growth in the coming quarters. Apple is poised to play a significant role in accelerating market growth with its upcoming introduction of Apple Intelligence. This new suite of features, designed to enhance the capabilities of Apple Silicon Macs, is expected to drive further upgrades and attract new customers.
