Worldwide shipments of PCs, tablets and smartphones are predicted to exceed 2.35 billion units in 2018, an increase of 2 per cent from 2017 according to Gartner.
The total device shipments for 2017 is estimated to be 2.31 billion in 2018, an increase of 2 per cent thanks to increase in PC market in Russia due to the upturn in country’s economy and sale of ultramobiles (Premium) in China.
The PC market in Russia has been positively influenced by an upturn in the country’s economic prospects, which has seen business spending on PCs increase by 5 per cent in 2017. This growth will persist into 2018. Spending is primarily focused on desktop PCs, which are more aggressively priced than mobile PCs or hybrid devices.
Second factor is China, where the move to Windows 10 has been delayed due to security and privacy issues, leading to slow PC sales in 2017. However, Microsoft is now working with a Chinese government agency to develop a government-approved version.
“The features of Windows 10 could be particularly useful for the Chinese Government that is looking to move from desktops and notebooks to ultramobile premium devices,” said Atwal.
“We expect this development to positively impact the PC market in 2018,” commented Atwal.
Ranjit Atwal, research director, Gartner said, “Forty per cent of respondents said that they use mostly a PC/tablet for certain daily experiences, such as reading and writing detailed emails or watching videos, while 34 per cent mostly use a smartphone for its convenience while on the move.”
“Users holding onto their PCs for longer remains a major issue for the PC market. In contrast, users continue to replace their smartphone quite frequently,” added Atwal.
Traditional PC shipments are forecast to decline 4.4 per cent in 2018 while mobile phone shipments are expected to increase 2.4 per cent.
Business PC shipments are estimated to return to growth by the end of 2017, driven by faster Windows 10 replacement in many regions, especially in Western Europe.
Worldwide Device Shipments:
Device Type – 2018
Traditional PCs – 195
(Desk-based and Notebook)
Ultramobiles (Premium) – 70
Total PC Market – 265
Ultra Mobiles (Basic & Utility) – 161
Computing Device Market – 426
Mobile Device – 1,926
Total Device Market – 2,352
Source: Gartner
“Despite the fact that prices have been rising due to higher component costs, Windows 10 replacements have kept the PC market relatively stable through 2017,” said Atwal.
“We estimate that the PC market (desk-based, notebook and ultramobiles) is set to return to 0.8 per cent growth in 2018,” added Atwal.
Mobile phone sales are expected to return to year-over-year growth in 2018, with shipments totaling 1.9 billion units. Smartphones will represent 86 percent of total mobile phone shipments in 2018, up 6 per cent from 2017.
Gartner expects Apple’s iPhone X to be the sales driver in North America, China and Western Europe, despite its high price. “Given the late November availability of the iPhone X, we expect the iPhone’s replacement cycle to flow more strongly into 2018,” said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner.
“Decrease in total mobile phone demand in 2017 is also expected to come from a weaker lower end of the smartphone market,” said Cozza.
“For this segment, local vendors continue to struggle against the shift toward top brands, while component price increases affect the ability of some Android vendors to compete more aggressively on price,” added Cozza.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.