In short: Final 12 months was not a superb one for the PC market, with one analyst agency calling it the business’s worst ever twelve months. Nonetheless, the ultimate quarter of 2023 supplied causes to be optimistic going ahead. That is a superb cause for PC firms to have fun, however the much less welcome information for shoppers is that SSD costs are anticipated to extend a large 50% this 12 months as NAND prices rise.
Beginning with analyst agency Gartner, it writes that 2023 was the worst 12 months in historical past for the PC business, with shipments down 14.8% year-over-year. Worldwide PC shipments have been at 241.8 million models in 2023, dropping from 284 million models in 2022.
Whereas that is devastating for the business, there was a glimmer of hope within the fourth quarter of 2023. International shipments elevated 0.3% in comparison with a 12 months earlier, ending a sequence of declining quarterly shipments stretching again two years.
In relation to particular person firms, Lenovo led the market in 2023 with a close to 25% share. It was adopted by HP, Dell, Apple, Asus, and Acer. HP had the most effective exhibiting final 12 months, with shipments falling ‘simply’ 4.5%. Dell had the worst 12 months, down 19.5%.
Taking a look at regional markets, Gartner writes that the US PC market recorded its first year-over-year progress in This fall because the second quarter of 2021, with a 1.8% enhance within the fourth quarter of 2023 – a decline in desktops offset laptop computer progress. HP saved its high spot within the US, adopted by Dell and Apple.
Shifting onto the opposite massive analyst agency, IDC, it has international PC shipments down 13.9% final 12 months. That is much like Gartner’s estimates, however IDC believes the fourth quarter of 2023 noticed shipments decline, by 2.7%.
Each firms agree that the PC market reached a nadir in 2023 following its pandemic-era growth, however it’s lastly exhibiting indicators of restoration. “Stock was normalized within the fourth quarter of 2023, which had been a difficulty plaguing the business for 2 years. This delicate progress means that demand and provide are lastly balanced. Nonetheless, this example will seemingly change because of the anticipated element value hike 2024, in addition to geopolitical and financial uncertainties,” stated Mikako Kitagawa, Director Analyst at Gartner. “Gartner tasks that the PC market will return to annual progress in 2024.”
The element value hike that Kitagawa mentions seemingly refers to SSDs. We heard in December that NAND flash costs have been anticipated to extend by at the very least 50% with firms slowing down manufacturing of NAND and DRAM chips to assist stabilize costs and filter stock.