Desktop PC and tablet shipments will continue to decline in the next five years with weak demand for both PC form factors, despite steady commercial demand.
Market intelligence firm IDC forecasts that while global PC shipments in 2022 will decline by only 1.8 percent, desktop PCs will decline to 86 million shipments from 97.8 million in 2017, while tablet shipments will drop to 102.9 million by 2022, down from 141.8 million.
Laptop shipments, however, will remain steady at 162.2 million shipments to 2022, but will take significantly more market share at 42 percent, compared to 38 percent in 2017.
"As expected the PC market ended 2017 with a contraction," IDC research manager Jay Chou said.
"But behind this number is a silver lining that shows the notebook segment posting its most positive growth since 2012, a point bolstered by the continued consumer migration to premium and ultraslim form factors."
Commercial PCs are maintaining its momentum due to ongoing renewals and will remain positive in the next five years as more markets finalise their transition to Windows 10.
"As the broader PC market continues to evolve, challenges remain but there are plenty of positive signs, too," said Tom Mainelli, IDC program vice president for devices and AR/VR programs.
"New form factors such as convertibles and detachables continue to show long-term growth opportunities in both consumer and commercial markets.”
Convertibles and detachable PC form factors such as the Microsoft Surface Pro will expect growth as commercial adoption increases.
Detachable tablet shipments are forecast to be up 10 percent to 34.6 million by 2022, compared to 21.9 million in 2017. Market share will also leap to 35 percent from 5.2 percent.
IDC in January reported a slight increase in PC shipments for the fourth quarter of 2017, posting 0.7 percent growth that outperformed the forecasted 1.7 percent decline.
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