The desktop PC is making a comeback - here's why

Desktop PC
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Sales of desktop PCs continued to surge worldwide during the second quarter of this year according to new research from the International Data Company (IDC).

According to the market intelligence firm's latest tracker, worldwide shipments of traditional PCs including desktops, notebooks and workstations reached 83.6m units in the second quarter which is up by 13.2 percent when compared to sales during the same quarter last year.

While business laptop sales were increasing before the pandemic, elevated PC demand and component shortages impacted the supply of notebooks last quarter which led to desktop PC growth outpacing that of notebooks.

Research manager for IDC's Mobile and Consumer Device Trackers, Jitesh Urbani provided further insight on the results of the firm's latest Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker in a press release, saying:

"The PC market's hot streak continued to drive heavy investments from the supply side including the entry of new vendors as well as additional spend from underdogs,. And while the top 5 continue to drive volume, the smaller vendors have helped drive growth by offering unique features or niche designs."

Worldwide PC shipments

When it came to the vendors with the most PC shipments during the second quarter of 2021, Lenovo took the top spot with 23.9 percent market share followed by HP Inc and Dell Technologies. Meanwhile, Apple and Acer tied for fourth place with 7.4 and 7.3 percent of the global market share respectively.

Although annual growth remains high in the PC market, it has begun to taper off somewhat as most consumers already purchased new devices while working from home last year. The 13 percent growth rate in Q2 of this year is far lower than the 55.9 percent growth rate during the first quarter and the growth rate of 25.8 percent seen during the fourth quarter of 2020.

While consumer demand looks to be slowing down somewhat, businesses are preparing to implement hybrid work policies when they return to the office and this could lead to higher demand for mobile workstations as well as 2-in-1 laptops.

Via IDC

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Anthony Spadafora

After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home. 

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