Global PC shipments grew 3% in Q1 2024 says Counterpoint — with AI expected to continue driving PC sales this year

Domestic Laptop Market- India
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We have just witnessed a 3% year-on-year growth in global PC shipments, following two years of decline, with the industry returning to pre-pandemic levels. The change -- confirmed in a report by Counterpoint Research -- is credited to the onset of the AI PC era, shipment recoveries in respective sectors, and end-user upgrade cycles. 

Counterpoint's report broadly agrees with the recent findings of IDC, which detailed 8% growth during Q1 2024. Both research groups reckon Lenovo is enjoying the lion's share of the global PC market with 23-24%, followed by HP and Dell. Apple also enjoyed some growth, which may be credited to its M3-based systems. These companies are consistent and resilient in maintaining their top four placings in the global market.

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Global PC Shipments- Q1 2024 Vs Q1 2023 (In Millions Units) Counterpoint Research
Header Cell - Column 0 Q1 2024Q1 2023Y-O-Y Growth
Lenovo13.712.78.00%
HP Inc1211.91.00%
Dell9.29.3-0.40%
Apple Inc.54.92.00%
Acer3.73.56.00%
Others13.713.61.00%

This year, we should see many AI PCs and notebooks sold globally. Qualcomm also wants a piece of the personal computing market, as it intends to compete against Intel and AMD with its highly anticipated Snapdragon X-powered notebooks, teased to debut in just a few days. That said, even AMD and Intel have been preparing to launch processors and SoCs with artificial intelligence processing boosts. Industry players hope AI adoption will exponentially grow the market, but we are still waiting for the killer app(s) that integrate AI on PCs.

Progress despite trade sanctions in China and Russia

It's also noteworthy that domestic brands in Russia and China are expected to commandeer large portions of their PC market, largely due to sanctions. With mainstream brands being displaced, one might have expected market shares to be more disrupted. Remember, China is regarded as one of the most important and largest PC markets in the world. 

While China has made progress with its chip-making business as it continues to import new tools, Russia has seen less success. It is thought that China has been supplying its chips to Russia, creating another revenue flow. Regardless, both countries have their own solutions for operating systems and software to replace Windows and cloud computing apps like Office 365. It is too early to say if research groups will be able to assess these country's growth levels, but it will be interesting to keep track of regardless. 

In conclusion, despite the disruptive conditions and headwinds, the AI-fuelled growth and reinvigoration of the global PC market looks like it already has some momentum in early 2024.

Roshan Ashraf Shaikh
Contributing Writer

Roshan Ashraf Shaikh has been in the Indian PC hardware community since the early 2000s and has been building PCs, contributing to many Indian tech forums, & blogs. He operated Hardware BBQ for 11 years and wrote news for eTeknix & TweakTown before joining Tom's Hardware team. Besides tech, he is interested in fighting games, movies, anime, and mechanical watches.

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  • Jagar123
    The change is credited to the onset of the AI PC era

    I don't know anyone that is hyped up over an "AI PC" or going out there to buy one. My NPU currently does nothing for me. They keep selling promises and people keep writing articles about them. I guess that generates hype? Or, in my case, generates the opposite.

    *EDIT* I get that AI can be useful. But the way companies like Microsoft push it as The Next Big Thing™ only hurts them I think.
    Reply
  • shady28
    AI is almost entirely in the 'cloud' right now.

    It isn't driving sales, industry cyclicality is. Everyone and their dog bought / upgraded starting in 2020 up into 2021. That's now 3-4 years ago. That buying spree has created a widely predicted cyclical pattern in PC purchases, as people tend to upgrade in 3-5Y cycles.

    PC sales should rise for the next 2 years as the 3-5 year old PCs bought in 2020/2021 are upgraded/replaced.

    Then sales are likely to fall precipitously.
    Reply