Digital Lifescapes

The global Information Technology (IT) distribution sector has long been a barometer for the broader IT industry's health, reflecting shifts in end-user demand, enterprise investment, and technological innovation. Recent data from IDC research indicates a notable resurgence in this space, with fourth-quarter revenues returning to growth, driven predominantly by personal computing and software expenditures. IT Distribution Market Development The global distribution sector has experienced a significant uptick in customer investments. This resurgence underscores the demand for PCs, laptops, and related software solutions, even where mobile devices have become ubiquitous. Personal Computing returned to normal distributor revenue levels in 2024 after a significant contraction in 2023. The $3.75 billion in sales recorded in Q4 continues to be fueled by Artificial Intelligence (AI) PC configurations, which grew 141 percent year-over-year. The data suggests that businesses continue to inve...

Two years after ChatGPT captured the world's imagination, there's a dichotomy in the enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) market. On one side, technology vendors are making unprecedented investments in AI infrastructure and new feature capabilities. On the other, there's measured adoption from customers who carefully weigh the AI costs and proven use case benefits. Artificial Intelligence Market Development The scale of new investment is significant. Cloud vendors alone were expected to invest over $150 billion in capital expenditures in 2024, with AI infrastructure being the primary driver. This massive bet on AI's future is reflected in the rapid growth of AI server revenue. Looking at just two major players - Dell Technologies and HPE - their combined AI server revenue surged from $1.2 billion in Q4 2023 to $4.4 billion in Q3 2024, highlighting the dramatic expansion. Yet despite these investments, the revenue returns remain relatively modest. The latest TBR resea...

The past decade has witnessed an explosion in Artificial Intelligence (AI) use cases. From facial recognition software to virtual assistants, AI is rapidly reshaping our digital world. However, most of this AI processing power has resided in the public cloud, requiring a broadband internet connection and raising concerns about personal data privacy. This deployment model is about to evolve. The future of AI is the ability to function directly on our devices, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. On-Device AI Market Development The research predicts a significant growth in AI chipset shipments, reaching over 1.3 billion units by 2030.  This surge signifies a critical shift towards on-device AI, empowering smartphones, PCs, tablets, and other gadgets with the ability to process AI tasks locally. This transition is driven by two key factors. Firstly, smartphone and PC vendors are prioritizing the development of chipsets specifically designed for on-device AI,...

Soon you will start to experience Artificial Intelligence (AI) benefits everywhere -- in the public cloud, at the edge of mobile networks, and on many personal digital devices. Generative AI (GenAI) workloads have moved beyond the bounds of cloud environments and can now run on-device supported by implementing heterogeneous AI chipsets. Combined with an abstraction layer that can efficiently distribute AI workloads between processing architectures and compressed LLMs with under 15 billion parameters, these advanced chipsets can enable us to run generative AI inferencing locally. On-Device AI Market Development ABI Research estimates worldwide shipments of heterogeneous AI chipsets will reach over 1.8 billion by 2030 as personal computers, smartphones, and other form factors will increasingly ship with on-device AI capabilities. "Cloud deployment will act as a bottleneck for generative AI to scale due to data privacy, latency, and networking cost concerns. Solving these challenges...

The exponential growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications will create demand for new devices that are purposely enabled and enhanced to deliver superior end-user experiences. Worldwide shipments of AI PCs and Generative AI (GenAI) smartphones are projected to total 295 million units by the end of 2024 -- that's up from 29 million units in 2023, according to the latest global market study by Gartner. Gartner defines AI PCs as devices equipped with dedicated AI accelerators or cores, neural processing units (NPUs), accelerated processing units (APUs), or tensor processing units (TPUs), designed to optimize and accelerate AI tasks on the device. GenAI-Enabled Device Market Development This new device platform provides improved performance and efficiency in handling AI and GenAI workloads without relying on external on-prem servers or public cloud services. GenAI smartphones are designed and equipped with hardware and software capabilities that enable integration and efficie...

While it's true that CEOs plan ongoing spending in IT during 2023, it likely won't include a significant investment in end-user computing devices. By and large, digital transformation continues to be driven by software advances. Worldwide shipments of total end-user computing devices are projected to decline by 4.4 percent in 2023, to a total of 1.7 billion units, according to the latest market study by Gartner. Note, in 2022, the devices market already declined by 11.9 percent. "The depressed economic market will continue to dampen demand for devices throughout 2023. In fact, end-user spending on devices is projected to decline 5.1 percent in 2023," said Ranjit Atwal, senior director at Gartner . End-User Computing Market Development Just as business confidence was beginning to recover after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has now fallen significantly in most regions. Moreover, Gartner doesn't expect relief from inflation and the bottom of the recession to...

Wireless communications technology applications will gain new momentum in 2022. Looking ahead, wireless device connectivity innovations such as Wi-Fi 6 and Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology adoption will accelerate new growth. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, next year Wi-Fi 6 will reach over 1.5 billion annual chipset shipments, while 6 GHz enabled Wi-Fi 6E chipsets are forecasted to nearly triple. Meanwhile, Ultra-Wideband devices are expected to reach nearly half-a-billion units as adoption increases within smartphones, wearables, speakers, personal trackers, and RTLS applications. Wireless Innovation Market Development "The wireless connectivity landscape continues to evolve thanks to the emergence of new technologies, enhancements to established technologies, and continued innovation and competition across the chipset, module and device ecosystems," said Andrew Zignani, research director at ABI Research . 2022 will be a critical year for wire...

As more digital technology innovations reside in software apps, and part of those software functions reside in a public cloud, the value of device-centric innovation has been eclipsed. Chances are, the device that you already have in your possession is 'good enough' to access those software-defined services. Worldwide shipments of devices -- personal computers (PCs), media tablets and mobile phones -- will decline by 3.7 percent in 2019, according to the latest worldwide market study by Gartner. Personal Device Market Development Gartner estimates there are more than 5 billion mobile phones used around the world. After years of growth, the worldwide smartphone market has reached a tipping point. Sales of smartphones will decline by 3.2 percent in 2019, which would be the worst decline the category has seen. "This is due to consumers holding onto their phones longer, given the limited attraction of new technology," said Ranjit Atwal, senior research director at...

Across the globe, the demand for personal computers (PCs) has declined significantly over the last couple of years, as both consumers and businesses invest in other devices. According to one industry analyst, that historically bleak view may be coming to an end. The worldwide PC market will likely experience a slight recovery in 2019, with shipments of desktops, notebooks and two-in-ones set for 0.3 percent growth -- that's after seven years of ongoing declines. Personal Computer Market Development The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region will be a key driver as vendors turn to the market in the face of falling demand within Europe and China. PC shipments to APAC will overtake those to Western Europe by 2021. "Microsoft Windows 10 refresh will continue to be the main driver of commercial demand for PCs in 2019," said Alastair Edwards, chief analyst at Canalys . "This will be buoyed by strong economic performance and business spend in the United States, the largest PC m...

The consumer electronics and mobile device vendors have experienced a significant slowdown in demand, due to a number of related factors that result in the ongoing downward trend. This is a global phenomenon, where few markets across the globe are likely to drive significant new growth opportunities. The combined personal computer (PC), media tablet and smartphone markets are on pace to record 0.9 percent growth and eventually reach 2.28 billion units in 2018, according to the latest worldwide study by Gartner. The PC and tablet market is estimated to decline by 1.2 percent in 2018, while the mobile phone market is forecast to increase by just 1.4 percent. Digital Device Market Development "The PC market is still hindered by the undersupply of the DRAM market for all of 2018, due to the lack of new wafer capacity coming online. As a result, PC vendors will continue to increase their prices throughout 2018," said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner . "Larger ...

The global adoption of public cloud computing services, the increased performance of smartphones and the demand for Chromebooks continue to negatively impact the rest of the consumer electronics market and to a somewhat lesser degree the enterprise IT marketplace. Results for the second quarter of 2018 (2Q18) showed shipments of traditional personal computers (PCs) totaled 62.3 million units -- that's a year-on-year growth of just 2.7 percent, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). While it's a relatively small improvement, it's actually better than IDC's initial forecast of 0.3 percent growth. Personal Computing Market Development Although helped to some extent by a weak second quarter in 2017, which was somewhat impacted by key component issues, the 2Q18 results reversed the trend from the previous three quarters, which had the market hovering slightly above or below flat growth. Business volume appeared to be t...

Once upon a time, a few years ago, technology industry analysts reported on global market growth for new devices -- where personal computers, media tablets and smartphones were in demand by both consumers and businesses. However, then came widespread market saturation, and declines in demand. Worldwide tablet and PC shipments will fall by 2.1 percent to 398 million units in 2018, according to the latest market study by Canalys. But this represents the smallest decline of the past four years and sets the tone for an era of stability. So, when does the market trend return to growth? That remains a mystery. Personal Computing Device Market Development Consumer refresh cycles have started to stabilize, and the legacy PC vendors have focused on new categories, such as gaming PCs, Chromebooks and convertibles. On the commercial side, Microsoft Windows 10 migration is a driver for hardware refresh, as some businesses are forced to move from Intel Skylake-generation architectures to newe...

Personal computer (PC) manufacturers will find no relief from the latest overall industry assessment. Worldwide PC shipments totaled 67 million units in the third quarter of 2017 -- that's a 3.6 percent decline from the third quarter of 2016, according to the latest global market study by Gartner. Note, this is the twelfth consecutive quarter of declining PC shipments. Optimistic industry analysts continue to seek an upside for this historically weak technology market, but some of the largest regions still show no sign of a meaningful recovery. Personal Computer Market Development "While there were signs of stabilization in the PC industry in key regions, including EMEA, Japan and Latin America, the relatively stable results were offset by the U.S. market, which saw a 10 percent year-over-year decline in part because of a very weak back-to-school sales season," said Mika Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner . Business PC demand, led by Windows 10 upgrades, conti...

According to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), global shipments of personal computing devices (PCDs), comprised of traditional PCs (desktops, notebooks, and workstations) and media tablets (slates and detachables), will continue a decline through 2021. The study results show PCD shipments declining from 435.1 million units in 2016 to 398.3 million in 2021, which represents a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -1.7 percent. Personal Computing Market Development While growth for the overall PCD market is not expected at any point within the forecast period, there are a few interesting trends that continue to develop. Apart from 2018, notebook PCs show small but steady year-over-year growth throughout the forecast period. Detachable tablets and convertible notebooks, which represent more versatile designs, will be the fastest growing segments in PCD with a 5-year CAGR of over 14 percent. Ultraslim notebooks are also expected to...

The personal computer sector is stuck in a downturn. Worldwide shipments of personal computing devices (PCDs) -- including a combination of desktop, notebook, and workstation PCs, plus slate and detachable tablets -- are forecast to decline from a total of 435 million units in 2016 to 405.2 million units in 2021, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). This latest forecast represents a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -1.4 percent. IDC reduced its overall PCD forecast from the previous version by up to 3 percent depending on the year, with the largest reductions coming from the media tablet product categories. PC Market Development Remains Bleak Always the optimist, IDC analysts now believe that the troubled market could return to an overall growth trajectory in 2019. Led by a modest recovery in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific regions within the first quarter of 2017, the traditional PC market registered ...

The worldwide media tablet market contracted in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17) with total shipments of 36.2 million -- that's a year-over-year decline of 8.5 percent, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The first quarter contraction marks the tenth straight quarter that tablets have experienced a decline over the same quarter a year earlier, with the previous five quarters recording double-digit drops. Meanwhile, the market for Google Chromebooks continues to rise, and phablets continue to gain market share. Media Tablet Market Development The tablet market is comprised of two different product categories. Devices offering a keyboard, which IDC refers to as detachable tablets, continue to grow. The other product category is slate tablets (those lacking this keyboard option), which saw shipments peak in 2014 and is now in a steep decline. "As far as most are aware, the tablet market was created in 2010 with the launch of the o...

Worldwide personal computer (PC) shipments totaled 62.2 million units in the first quarter of 2017 -- that's a 2.4 percent decline from the first quarter of 2016, according to the latest market study by Gartner. Moreover, it's the first time since 2007 that shipments fell below 63 million units in one quarter. That said, the PC industry experienced modest growth in the business market, but this was offset by declining consumer demand. Some people will refrain from replacing older PCs, and others have abandoned the PC market altogether. Gartner's study did not include Chromebooks, which are in greater demand. Regardless, Garner has emphasized that the business segment of the market still considers the PC as an important device, and it's the main work computer device for many businesses. Personal Computer Market Development "While the consumer market will continue to shrink, maintaining a strong position in the business market will be critical to keep sustain...

Global consumer electronics vendors experienced a challenging environment in 2016, due to the shift in product preferences of savvy buyers. With the exception of Chromebooks, the personal computing category has not had the market demand or device shipments that could sustain the vendors. Case in point; consumer spending during the holiday quarter of 2016 was clearly not aimed at consuming media tablets, as the market continued its downturn. The fourth quarter of 2016 (4Q16) marked the ninth consecutive quarter that tablet shipments have declined. Media Tablet Market Development Vendors shipped 52.9 million tablets in the fourth quarter, which was a decline of 20.1 percent from the same quarter one year ago, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC) . Similarly, shipments of 174.8 million units for the full year 2016 were down 15.6 percent compared to 2015 -- marking the second straight year of declining shipments of media tablets...

Personal computer (PC) vendors will remember 2016 as yet another year where their hopes for a market growth recovery failed to materialize. Worldwide PC shipments are forecast to decline by 6.4 percent in 2016, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Ironically, this is considered an improvement over an earlier projection for a decline of 7.2 percent in 2016. While the current IDC outlook (subject to change) for 2017 is at -2.1 percent year-over-year decline, the absolute volumes are likely to be slightly higher based on stronger 2016 shipments. PC Market Development Trends The third quarter of 2016 (3Q16) saw a year-over-year decline in shipments of 4.6 percent, more than 2 percentage points ahead of expectations. The 3Q16 market gains were due in part to momentum in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan, and are driven by channel build up in anticipation of component shortages. This inventory accumulation is expected to s...

As more people around the globe discover that they don't need a personal computer (PC) to participate in the Global Networked Economy, the market for smartphones and phablets has satisfied the demand for internet access and web browsing. This is now the pervasive trend worldwide. Besides, the ongoing adoption of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) apps meant that mainstream users learned what has become common knowledge -- just about anything you need to accomplish can be done in the cloud. The impact of this disruptive trend on traditional PC manufacturers has been devastating. "The global PC market had a bad start to 2016 and it is difficult to see any bright spots for vendors in the coming quarters. The tablet boom has faded in the distance and the market is fully mature. Global shipments declines are expected to continue unless vendors bring some remarkable new innovation to the market," said Tim Coulling, senior analyst at Canalys . Market Declines Dominate the PC Lan...