News information

Article source: Canalys

Desktop (including desktop workstations) shipments fell 34% to 3.7 million units. Shipments of laptops, including mobile workstations, fell 22 percent to 8.5 million units. Tablet shipments grew 39% to 7.5 million units in the fourth quarter as major vendors launched new devices. In 2022, overall shipments of personal computers (desktops, laptops and workstations) reached 48.5 million units, down 15% from 2021. Tablet shipments grew 6 percent year on year to 24 million units, while the lockdown and shutdown caused by the pandemic in 2022 was the main reason to stimulate the surge in demand.

Emma Xu, an analyst at Canalys, said: "Despite a significant correction in the market, shipments of laptops (including mobile workstations) and tablets remain above pre-pandemic levels, 8% and 22% higher respectively than in 2019. As more and more smartphone vendors enter the fray, the landscape of the notebook and tablet market is always in a state of flux. These new players are ambitious to grab more market share to lay the groundwork for their connected ecosystem strategy, and the Android tablet space will also face more intense competition."

Canalys expects PC shipments (desktops, notebooks and workstations) to stabilize in 2023, with about 48.3 million units shipped, close to 2022. With the gradual recovery of economic and business activity everywhere, the commercial sector is expected to experience a 10% rebound in 2023. But the consumer market will still decline by 9% and may not recover until the fourth quarter of 2023. Desktops (including desktop workstations) will grow 15 percent to 17.3 million units in 2023, while laptops (including mobile workstations) will decline 7 percent to 30.9 million units. As for tablets, consumer demand will slow due to widespread adoption over the past three years. In addition, the development of commercial applications needs to be further strengthened, and the category will decline by 8% to 22.1 million in 2023.

Despite the growing threat from native operating systems, Windows will remain dominant on desktops. Due to the limited compatibility and efficiency of the local system, even if it is vigorously promoted and supported, it is still difficult to attract large-scale users in the consumer market. In the notebook space, Apple's upcoming launch of the new Macbook (2023) and further expansion into the enterprise market will help increase MacOS market share, with shipments expected to grow by nearly 16% in 2023. Canalys expects iPadOS and Android to decline by 18% and 8%, respectively, while other operating systems (led by Hunmund), albeit from a small base, are expected to grow by 105% in the coming year, driven by replacement demand.

Ms Xu added: "The medium-term outlook for the PC market depends on the extent to which business and consumer confidence recover, as China's new leadership has indicated that it will make boosting consumption and increasing disposable income a top priority in 2023." Canalys expects China's PC market to return to moderate growth in 2024, with PCS (desktops, notebooks, and workstations) and tablets growing 7 percent and 1 percent, respectively, from 2023. "Due to strong marketing campaigns by international and domestic players, consumer acceptance of the concept of 'connected device ecosystem' will increase. If manufacturers can focus on cross-device user experience, it may attract more upgrade devices and younger generations of users. At the same time, the synergistic layout of commercial and consumer channels is also critical to the strategic development of the vendor ecosystem."