Global PC shipments Fell 7 Percent
The global PC market, including tablets, experienced an annual decline of 7% in Q1 2015, reaching 115.7 million units worldwide, according to data released by Canalys. Apple held on to first place despite a 16% decline in its total PC shipments. It shipped 17.2 million units, taking a 15% share of the market. Lenovo and HP, second and third place respectively, both saw single-digit shipment growth in Q1 2015 and increases in market share. Samsung narrowly held on to fourth spot as its declining tablet sales led to Dell closing the gap in fifth place. Samsung and Dell took 8.2% shipment market share with 9.5 and 9.4 million units respectively.
Tim Coulling, Canalys Senior Analyst, says that the soft demand for PCs will continue in the second quarter as Windows 10 draws nearer along with Microsoft’s free upgrade plans.
Desktop shipments were hardest hit, falling 13%, with declines affecting all global regions.
The notebook market fared better, but after two quarters of falling less than 1%, declines have now increased to 4%. The notebook category faces significant challenges for the rest of the year as Microsoft has restricted the Windows with Bing program to notebooks with sub 14-inch screen sizes.
The tablet market declined around 9% year-on-year to 45.6 million units, with market leaders Samsung and Apple experiencing double-digit shipment declines as demand for the category has cooled.
Hybrid and convertible shipments doubled year-over-year in Q1 2015, reaching 3.0 million units. Asus headed the market with 28% market share, followed by Lenovo and Acer with 19%. The market for two-in-one devices is expected to continue to grow during 2015 as consumers become accustomed to new form factors.