Analysts claim global PC shipments went down as much as 33 percent in Q1 2023

It was bad news for the PC industry in the recently completed first quarter of 2023. Analyst firms IDC and Canalys painted a grim picture for global PC shipments in that time period. IDC claims that shipments totaled 56.9 million, down 29 percent from the same period a year ago. Canalys' numbers were even worse, with just 54 million shipments, which it said was down 33 percent compared to the first quarter of 2023.

Both IDC and Canalys agree that Lenovo shipped the most PCs in the last quarter, followed by HP, Dell, Apple, and ASUS. Apple PCs suffered the biggest shipment drops during Q1 2023, with IDC stating its numbers were down 40.5 percent from the same period a year ago, and Canalys claiming Apple's PC shipments were down 45.5 percent.

Despite the bad news, both firms claim that the PC business could see the start of a recovery in the second half of 2023 and a larger recovery predicted for 2024. IDC says that by 2024, there will be a lot of older PCs that need upgrading. It added:

If the economy is trending upwards by then, we expect significant market upside as consumers look to refresh, schools seek to replace worn down Chromebooks, and businesses move to Windows 11. If recession in key markets drags on into next year, recovery could be a slog.

Canalys stated:

The PC market has strong fundamentals to drive long-term growth, with shipment volumes higher than in the pre-pandemic era. A much larger installed base post-COVID-19, the transition to Windows 11, and both refresh and new demand from digital education will all be key drivers as the global economy enters a period of recovery in 2024 and beyond.

That firm added that for Q1 2023, notebook PC shipments were down 32 percent to 41.8 million units, while desktop PCs declined slightly less, down 28 percent to 12.1 million units.

Analysts claim global PC shipments went down as much as 33 percent in Q1 2023