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Lenovo and Apple both increased their market share at the start of 2024, after their PC sales took sharp hits last year.
The global PC market appears to be recovering after reaching record low levels in recent years, according to a new report from research company IDC.
Preliminary results from the company suggest global PC sales reached 59.8m shipments in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 1.5pc compared to the same period in 2023. The report claims global PC shipments have finally returned to pre-pandemic levels as the shipments rivalled those seen in the first quarter of 2019.
IDC attributes the growth to “easy year-over-year comparisons” as PC sales shrunk by nearly 29pc in the first quarter of 2023 – the company claims this was the “lowest point” in PC history.
The report claims PC shipments have begun to recover in most regions, leading to growth in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. But weak demand in China led to another quarter of declines for global desktop shipments, which IDC claims is facing pressure as notebooks appear to be preferred purchase.
“Despite China’s struggles, the recovery is expected to continue in 2024 as newer AI PCs hit shelves later this year and as commercial buyers begin refreshing the PCs that were purchased during the pandemic,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager with IDC’s worldwide mobile device trackers.
“Along with growth in shipments, AI PCs are also expected to carry higher price tags, providing further opportunity for PC and component makers.”
IDC claims Lenovo continues to be the market leader in terms of PC sales, representing 23pc of the market share for the start of 2024 – up from 21.6pc at the start of 2023. HP and Dell were in second and third place respectively, but both experienced a slight drop in their market share.
Apple remained in fourth place but saw its market share grow by 1pc in the last quarter. IDC attributed the increased growth by Lenovo and Apple to declines they faced in the previous year.
Meanwhile, a report from earlier this year claims Apple continues to have the lion’s share in the global premium smartphone market, but that its dominance dropped slightly in 2023.
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