Markets across many consumer technology sectors have been in near-universal decline since the pandemic, but analysts are starting to see an end to the free fall. While shipments are still falling each quarter, the declines are not as severe as in previous quarters, raising hopes of a comeback.
Canalys' report shows that PC shipments in the second quarter of 2023 fell by 5.8% compared with the same period last year. While the industry's downward trend continues, analysts see the numbers as a significant improvement over recent quarters.
This number totals 18.2 million units, including desktops, laptops and workstations. Laptops performed best, with 15.2 million units, down 4%, while the other two categories combined totaled 3.0 million units, down 12%.
Analysts believe that the growth in laptop numbers is due to Chromebook shipments. Increased demand from schools as a result of federal funding boosted Chromebook shipments to 4.7 million units, the highest since mid-2021. In addition, Canalys believes that although Microsoft's new operating system still lags behind Windows 10 in market share, the transition to Windows 11 may drive demand upward.
Looking at PC shipments from a single manufacturer, Apple grew by 32% and became the main driving force in the quarter. The only other company to achieve growth was Hewlett-Packard, which grew by 6% and ranked first in market share, slightly ahead of Dell.
The tablet market trended similarly to PCs, declining 4.9%. However, Apple was the only manufacturer to achieve growth, with an increase of 20%. Almost all other vendors saw significant declines, including Amazon down 32%, TCL down 18%, and Samsung down 17%.
Throughout 2022 and early 2023, oversupply and falling demand caused a historic collapse in PC and PC component shipments. For example, the first quarter of 2023 was Intel's worst quarter in its 55-year history, with a loss of $2.8 billion. However, the company posted a much smaller annual decline next quarter, returning to profitability and signaling a slight recovery later this year. Canalys expects similar results for PC shipments.
The agency predicts that the decline will further narrow to 4% in the third quarter of 2023, while the fourth quarter will increase by 12% due to holiday promotions. Looking ahead, growth will remain at 9% in 2024 and reach 12% the following year. According to TrendForce, LCD displays may experience a similar recovery starting in 2024.
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