PC not ready to die

ABI research has revealed that 163 million notebooks were shipped last year – debunking the myth that the personal computer is meeting its demise.

Market intelligence company ABI Research has found that 163 million notebook PCs were shipped globally during 2015. The majority of shipments were laptops, which constituted nearly 80% of the category. The data suggests that despite a floating myth speculating that it will only be a matter of time before personal computers meet their demise, the market is still going strong and shows no sign of slowing down in the immediate future.

“Industry experts greatly exaggerated the death of the PC,” says Jeff Orr, Research Director at ABI Research. “The platform is continuing to evolve its designs to provide flexibility for productivity purposes, while also adapting its shape to support tablet-like, touch applications. Chromebooks and ultraportable PCs will continue to drive the most growth within the notebook PC market.”

Though ultraportable PCs hit the shelves at premium prices, consumer interest for the 2-in-1 systems is increasing due to the supreme versatility that the models provide. As such, ABI Research predicts that new, low-cost models will emerge from a broader range of system OEMs in 2016 and forecasts ultraportable PCs will constitute more than 24% of total notebook PC unit volume in 2021.

Meanwhile, ABI Research anticipates Chromebooks to continue to dominate the education market in 2016, as school initiatives drive toward 1:1 student deployments with a technology device. And though the majority of Chromebooks historically shipped in the U.S., the education trend is beginning to see growth in other regions, notably Western Europe. ABI Research predicts that Chromebooks will represent nearly 7% of all notebook PC shipments in 2021.

From an operating system standpoint, however, there remains room for further notebook PC development. “Intel architecture powers the majority of notebook PCs, and its introduction of the Core M SoC processor greatly enhanced the number of potential systems manufacturers that can participate in the 2-in-1 market,” concludes Orr. “With ARM processors dominating mobile devices, many in the industry wonder if an ARM-based PC will eventually surface. With no Windows 10 desktop support for ARM processor architecture, only a handful of Chromebooks are using ARM-based processors in their designs. As such, we do not expect ARM-based PCs to emerge during the forecast period.”

In all, data suggests regional growth from the notebook PC category will stem from Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa over the next five years as computing penetration in both the workplace and consumer markets expands.

These findings are part of ABI Research’s Tablets and Pervasive Computing Service, which includes research reports, market data, insights, and competitive assessments.