PC market continues to decline
KUALA LUMPUR: According to a new forecast from the International Data Corporation (IDC), the personal computing device (PC) market is expected to continue its slow decline in 2019.
However, there is a silver lining as it pointed out that the detachables market is expected to see modest growth over the next five years.
In a press statement based on its recently released Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker report, IDC noted that unit shipments for the worldwide PC market, comprised of traditional PCs and tablets, are expected to decline 3.3 per cent in 2019.
It noted that the market contraction comes on the heels of 2018, which also saw an overall decline in shipments despite good growth for commercial PCs. The decline in shipment volume is expected to continue throughout the forecast period as the market shrinks to 372.6 million units in 2023 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of negative 1.2 per cent.
However, it pointed out that detachables are expected to grow modestly over the five-year forecast with a CAGR of 4.6 per cent.
IDC believed this product category would have a stronger impact in the commercial segment as vendors increasingly focus their attention on enterprise and education markets for their sales.
“Notebooks/mobile workstations and detachable tablets are expected to take 53 per cent of all PCD shipments by 2023, a clear majority,” said Jay Chou, research manager of the PCD Tracker at IDC.
“Even as personal computing takes place on a myriad of devices and emerging venues like the cloud, IDC believes there remains a place for portable devices that can evolve to fit changing tastes while still retaining important but under-appreciated features like a physical keyboard.”
Chrome-based devices, which tend to be education centric, are expected to find some traction as more detachable Chrome tablets enter the scene. Slate tablets will continue to decline with a CAGR of 4.4 per cent with the market becoming increasingly concentrated towards the holiday quarters. Competition from key players has resulted in more brands reducing their presence or exiting the market altogether, IDC noted.
“While the long-run PC market remains in persistent decline, the constitution of the market continues to churn for the better,” added Linn Huang, research director for Devices and Displays at IDC.
“And with ray-tracing ramping up and 5G-connected, dual-screen, and foldable devices on the nottoo-distant horizon, consumers and professionals will likely find something compelling at the premium end.”
Meanwhile, IDC said, the traditional PCs is expected to continue along a tough landscape with declining desktop demand offset by emerging notebook opportunities, stabilising with a slight CAGR decline of 0.4 per cent between 2019 and 2023.