The plus ends a two-year dry spell. The market has roughly reached the volume before the corona pandemic. AI PCs are expected to support growth over the remainder of the year.
As predicted, the global PC market achieved growth in the first quarter. After two years of shrinking sales figures, IDC market researchers have now calculated the first three months of the year an increase of 1.5 percent compared to the same period last year. A total of 59.8 million units were delivered during the period.
However, IDC also points out that in the first quarter of 2023 the market experienced the largest decline in its history with a loss of 28.7 percent. However, the market researchers rate it positively that similar delivery volumes were achieved in the first quarter of 2024 as in the first quarter of 2019, i.e. before the corona pandemic.
In America and the EMEA region, declining inflation had a positive effect on demand for PCs. However, the threat of deflation in China had negative consequences, particularly due to weak demand for desktop computers. Nevertheless, IDC expects that the positive trend of the first three months of the year will continue – also through the introduction of AI PCs over the course of the year. “Along with the growth in shipments, AI PCs are also expected to have higher prices, providing further opportunities for PC and component manufacturers,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager at IDC.
With a market share of 23 percent (plus 1.4 points), Lenovo once again secured the top position ahead of HP. The US company only increased its sales figures by 0.2 percent, which corresponds to a share of 20.1 percent (minus 0.3 points). The number 3 in the market, Dell, even had to accept a decline in sales of 2.2 percent. With a share of 15.5 percent, Dell still has a clear lead over Apple, whose market share rose by one point to 8.1 percent. At 14.6 percent, the iPhone manufacturer also achieved the greatest growth among the top 5 providers.