A leading research firm has revealed data suggesting that the decline in global PC sales will taper off this year and next. Meanwhile, affordable tablet PCs will experience massive growth.
It hasn’t been looking to rosy for the PC industry over recent years, with every major market having reported ongoing and accelerating slides in conventional computer sales. However, the time may not yet have come to don our mourning jackets and wave goodbye to an era – PCs still have a fair bit of life in them yet.
That’s according to US research gurus Gartner, having released a brand-new report suggesting that the decline in PC and laptop sales will slow significantly this year. Smartphones, tablet PCs and other such devices are spreading like wildfire, traditional computers are staging something of a comeback.
“After declining 9.5 percent in 2013, the global PC market (desk-based, notebook and premium ultramobile) is on pace to contract only 2.9 percent in 2014,” said Ranjit Atwal, director of research for Gartner.
For the year as a whole, global sales of mobile devices and PCs are predicted to grow by 4.2% from last year, to hit a total of 2.4 billion device/machine sales, Gartner reported. One of the strongest markets for PC sales this year will apparently be Western Europe, where Gartner expects millions of Windows XP devices to be replaced over the coming months.
“This year, we anticipate nearly 60 million professional PC replacements in mature markets,” reads the report from Gartner.
In addition, the report also suggests that tablet PC shipments over the next year or so will be influenced enormously by value for money and generally lower prices, with high-end specs and features having taking something of a backseat in many key markets.
“The next wave of adoption will be driven by lower price points rather than superior functionality,” Gartner states.