Worldwide PC shipments dipped by 13 percent year-on-year to their lowest point since Q2 2011. New figures from Canalys show PC shipments of 101 million units in Q1 2016, a sixth consecutive quarter of falling sales, now at their lowest point since Q2 2011.
Even Apple, which was easily the biggest shipper, dropped 17 percent to 14 million units. Nearest rival Lenovo shipped 25,000 fewer at 13.75 million units.
However, shipments were weak across all categories, as all vendors struggled with declines in global demand. Tablets were the worst affected category, with shipments falling around 15 percent to just under 39 million units.
One bright spot was the two-in-one segment which grew just over 13 percent.
All PC categories in Asia-Pacific continued to experience weakness, affected by improving quality and falling prices in the smartphone market. Shipments in EMEA were down 15 percent, with notebooks down 18 percent.
North America was the best performing region, with PC shipments falling around five percent. The tablet market in the US was aided by shipments of large-screen detachable tablets such as the iPad Pro and the Surface Pro 4.
Shipments of two-in-ones and detachable tablets are expected to continue to do well in the US and will grow in high income markets. New form factors should trigger an increase in PC ASPs, benefitting the two-in-one and tablet categories at the expense of notebooks.
‘The global PC market had a bad start to 2016 and it is difficult to see any bright spots for vendors in the coming quarters,” said Tim Coulling, Canalys senior analyst. “The tablet boom has faded in the distance and the market is fully mature.”
He added that global shipment declines will continue unless vendors bring transformational innovation to the market.
