The COVID-19 pandemic seemed to have reinvigorated the PC market, but that will be over soon according to Gartner, a research and consulting firm that has predicted a 9.5% average drop in PC shipments by 2022.
According to analysts at the consulting firm, global PC shipments will fall 9.5% in 2022 compared to the previous year. With regard to the fall in demand, final consumers account for most of it due to a forecast decrease of 13.5%, while in companies the reduction would be 7.2%. One of the regions in which the functioning of the PC market will get worse will be EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), where Gartner expects demand falls 14%.
To the mobiles and tablets It does not seem that they will do much better in 2022, since Gartner has predicted for those devices a declines in shipments of 7.1 and 9 percent respectively. As a result and counting all the types of devices mentioned, in the end a drop of 7.6% is expected, which contrasts with the increases of 11% in PC shipments and 5% in mobile shipments registered in the year 2021, which was used by many to renew equipment as a result of teleworking and that many people began to stay at home longer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gartner expects the downward trend to continue in 2023, which is logical if Russia continues to invade Ukraine and factors for the rise in 2021 are looked at.
Apparently not all “types” of PC will be affected equally, but one aims to be harmed more than the rest: Chromebooks. For those who are lost, a Chromebook is a computer that has Chrome OS as a pre-installed operating system, and according to Gartner, this is due to lower demand from the education sector, possibly the main market for these computers.
Another product that aims to be affected are mobile phones with support for 5G networks, of which their shipments to Greater China increased by 65% in 2021, but for the present 2022 a drop of 2% is expected in said area. geographic. On this front, the main reason is the zero tolerance policy with COVID-19 promoted by the Chinese Government.
In the rest of the world, the shipment of mobile phones with support for 5G is expected to continue growing, but with less force. The 47% growth recorded in 2021 would be followed by another 29% in 2022. An increase in demand is expected by 2023, but rather as a consequence of the end of the cycle of many 4G mobiles that will be replaced by other 5G ones.
In short, nothing that surprises seeing the context we are experiencing. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has caused an economic crisis supported by strong inflation, so people’s pockets will be tighter to meet common expenses, which obviously pushes them to get rid of ideas such as renewing the PC.
Image: Pixabay
