The PC market has been moving at a chameleon's pace for months, but it's only gotten worse. So much to Canalys as the IDC estimate that worldwide computer shipments fell between 29% and 33% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, this time, none of the major brands escaped the worst of the crisis. . Second-placed HP escaped relatively lightly, with a 24% drop in shipments, while fourth-placed Apple suffered the most with a drop of more than 40%. ASUS, Dell and Lenovo saw a drop of approximately 30 percent.
| Company | Shipments 1Q23 | 1Q23 Market Share | Shipments 1Q22 | 1Q22 Market Share | Growth 1Q23/1Q22 |
| 1. Lenovo | 12.7 | 22.4% | 18.3 | 22.8% | -30.3% |
| 2.HP Inc. | 12.0 | 21.1% | 15.8 | 19.7% | -24.2% |
| 3 Dell | 9.5 | 16.7% | 13.7 | 17.1% | -31.0% |
| 4. Apple | 4.1 | 7.2% | 6.9 | 8.6% | -40.5% |
| 5. ASUS | 3.9 | 6.8% | 5.6 | 6.9% | -30.3% |
| Others | 14.7 | 25.9% | 19.9 | 24.8% | -26.0% |
| Total | 56.9 | 100.0% | 80.2 | 100.0% | -29.0% |
Source: IDC Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, April 9, 2023
Is there a reason for this drop in demand?
The explanations may sound familiar. Customers balk at buying computers in a turbulent economy, where inflation is rampant and the pandemic-era boom in remote work is still winding down. People cannot buy new machines or they already have some that are good enough. There's no commentary on why Apple struggled harder than its peers, but it generally targets the high-end market and is more vulnerable to poor economic conditions. The TechCrunch also notes that Apple's transition to internal chips helped avoid the tough times that Windows vendors have faced in recent years, but that the honeymoon period may be over.
A Pause in growth and demand is also giving the supply chain some room to make changes as many factories start to explore production options outside of China. Meanwhile, PC makers are also revamping their plans for the rest of the year and have started taking orders for Chromebooks due to an expected increase in licensing costs later this year. That said, PC shipments are likely to suffer in the short term, with a return to growth towards the end of the year, with an expected improvement in the global economy and as the installed base starts thinking about upgrading to Windows 11.
