Skip to main content

Personal Computing Market Volatility Lingers in 2015

The personal computing market continues to evolve as new device demand shifts to reflect the ongoing changes in vendor pricing strategy. Case in point: worldwide media tablet shipments fell 12 percent year-on-year to 67 million units in Q4 2014, according to the latest market study by Canalys.

The desktop computer market fell back into a decline in the fourth quarter, as demand for Microsoft Windows XP upgrades decreased. Moreover, the notebook PC market held firm with another quarter of just 1 percent growth.

Clearly, the overall personal computing market has been somewhat volatile. Given the current market outlook, that's unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

Total PC shipments (desktops, notebooks and tablets) fell by 6 percent in Q4 to reach 148 million units, resulting in full-year 2014 shipments of 528 million units, that's up by just 3 percent on 2013.

Apple regained the top spot in the PC market on the strength of holiday sales, with just under 27 million units shipped. Lenovo’s shipments grew 6 percent year-on-year to almost 20 million units as it increased its market share to 13.3 percent.

Meanwhile, Samsung dropped out of the top three to make way for HP, with growth of 17 percent driving shipments over 17 million units -- that's their best quarter since Q3 2011.

However, Apple's year-on-year tablet shipments declined once again -- down by 18 percent. That performance is now the fourth quarter of this downward trend for Apple.

Second-placed Samsung could also not repeat its media tablet success of Q4 2013, with its first annual decline of 24 percent to 11 million units.

"Despite a strong sequential uplift in tablet shipments, the total market contracted for the first time in Q4, as expected," said Tim Coulling, senior analyst at Canalys.

In addition to the slowdown at the top of the tablet market, the low end also suffered significant declines. In Q4 2014, 7" tablets made up half of total Google Android tablet shipments, a segment that has seen steady declines from a high of 66 percent in the first quarter of the year.

In the notebook PC market, Windows with Bing has proved to be a success in volume terms as Microsoft responded to increasing competition from Google Chromebooks in certain markets. The new price points it enabled stimulated notebook demand in Western Europe and the U.S. market.

This development impacted tablet sales in these markets in the fourth quarter, as consumers opted to replace aging notebook PCs. Canalys expects declines in the first half of 2015 as notebook PC inventories re-balance and the subsequent retail price increases will likely stifle further consumer demand. That being said, we can therefore anticipate continued market volatility.

Popular posts from this blog

Industrial and Manufacturing Technology Growth

In an evolving era of rapid advancement, market demand for innovative technology in the industrial and manufacturing sectors is skyrocketing. Leaders are recognizing the immense potential of digital transformation and are driving initiatives to integrate technologies into their business operations.  These initiatives aim to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and ultimately drive growth and competitiveness in an increasingly digital business upward trajectory. The industrial and manufacturing sectors have been the backbone of the Global Networked Economy, contributing $16 trillion in value in 2021. Industrial and Manufacturing Tech Market Development   This growth represents a 20 percent increase from 2020, highlighting the resilience and adaptability of these sectors in the face of unprecedented challenges, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research . The five largest manufacturing verticals -- automotive, computer and electronic, primary metal, food, and machinery -

Rise of AI-Enabled Smart Traffic Management

The demand for smart traffic management systems has grown due to rising urban populations and increasing vehicle ownership. With more people and cars concentrated in cities, problems like traffic congestion, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions are pressing issues. Since the early 2000s, government leaders have been exploring ways to leverage advances in IoT connectivity, sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytics to address these transportation challenges. The concept of a Smart City emerged in the 2010s, with smart mobility and intelligent traffic management as key components.  Smart Traffic Management Market Development Concerns about continued climate change, as well as cost savings from improved traffic flow, have further motivated local government investment in these advanced systems. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, they found that by 2028, smart traffic management investment will be up by 75 percent from a 2023 figure of

GenAI Revolution: The Future of B2B Sales Apps

When B2B buyers consider a purchase they spend just 17 percent of that time meeting with vendors. When they are comparing multiple suppliers‚ time spent with any one salesperson is 5 or 6 percent. Self-directed B2B buyer online research has already changed procurement. IT vendors are less likely to be involved in solution assessment. Now, more disruptive changes are on the horizon. By 2028, 60 percent of B2B seller work will be executed through conversational user interfaces via Generative Artificial Intelligence sales technologies -- that's up from less than 5 percent in 2023, according to Gartner. Generative AI Market Development "Sales operations leaders and their technology teams must prepare for the convergence of new forms of artificial intelligence, dynamic process automation, and reinvented deal-planning activities that will transform the sales function," said Adnan Zijadic, director analyst at Gartner . According to the Gartner assessment, Generative AI (GenAI) s