Steve Jobs’ prophecy could come true, PC sales slump for the fourth year running

By Chris Stobing May 29, 2015

HP Z27s with HP Z840 Desktop Workstation — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Maybe Steve Jobs wasn’t so wrong about that whole “post-PC era” thing after all.

For the umpteenth quarter in a row, PC sales around the globe have continued to decline, and the trend doesn’t look to be slowing.

According to a recently released report from the International Data Corporation, annual sales of personal computers are estimated to slump again, despite the end of Windows XP support driving a slight spike in purchases at the tail end of 2014.

“Worldwide PC shipments are expected to fall by -6.2% in 2015,” read the IDC’s report. “This will be the fourth consecutive year of declining volume as the PC market continues to struggle with competition from tablets and smartphones and generally low demand.”

It’s not all doom and gloom however, as IDC analysts expect the upcoming release of the new Windows 10 operating system to momentarily spur a few more consumers to upgrade from their old clunkers to a machine that might be able to more effectively handle the fresh OS.

“Windows 10 should be a significant contributor to the PC market – providing an upgrade path from Windows 7 for commercial users and a range of features boosting convenience and integrating the user experience across platforms.”

The IDC believes this minor jump will only be temporary as we move into the holiday season, however, as consumers will continue to prioritize mobile devices – namely phones, tablets, and smartwatches like the Apple Watch – over standard desktops or laptops brandishing the Windows logo.

It’s hard to say if the PC market will ever truly recover from the impact of the mobile revolution, but here’s to hoping that 2016 is the year that personal computing finally makes its comeback.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Self-proclaimed geek and nerd extraordinaire, Chris Stobing is a writer and blogger from the heart of Silicon Valley. Raised…

Computing

This change to my multi-monitor setup was totally worth it

Man using dual monitor arms on his desk.

After-market monitor arms are one of those "upgrades" you can perform that I never saw the need for. I mean, I've already spent several hundred dollars on a nice monitor for work and gaming, why would I spend another $50 on a stand for it to replace the perfectly good one the screen came with?

It turns out that the answer is because they're just better. And not in the $1,000-Apple-stand better kind of way. Just that bit better. And when you're on a quest to reduce back pain in your office, you'll try just about anything.

Computing

Need a new laptop? Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is $400 off right now

The Surface Laptop 5 on a table in front of a window.

If you’ve been waiting for great laptop deals on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 range, you’re in luck. Best Buy currently has $400 off the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 so you can buy it for $900 instead of $1,300. A great option for students who want to look stylish or anyone who wants a laptop a little different from the rest, here’s a deeper look at what to expect before you buy it.

Why you should buy the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is a pretty sleek option even if Microsoft has yet to break the best laptop brands world. It has an Intel Evo Platform Core i5 processor paired up with 8GB of memory and 512GB of SSD storage. Those are all the essentials you could need from this kind of laptop.

Computing

This Lenovo 2-in-1 laptop is discounted from $860 to $500

Press render of the Lenovo Yoga 6 2-in-1 laptop.

Lenovo continues its reign of offering some of the best laptop deals at the moment with the Lenovo Yoga 6 13-inch AMD model down to $600 from $860. A saving of 30% or $260 sounds pretty great although it’s always good to be a little cautious of Lenovo’s overly optimistic estimated value system. Still, what we do know for sure is that $600 for a stylish 2-in-1 laptop is a pretty sweet deal. If that immediately sounds like your kind of thing then hit the buy button otherwise, take a look below at what else we have to say about it.

Why you should buy the Lenovo Yoga 6
Lenovo is one of the best laptop brands out there with that reputation particularly extending to its 2-in-1 range. This particular model has an AMD Ryzen 5 7530U processor along with 8GB of memory and 512GB of SSD storage. As with the other best 2-in-1 laptops, it also has a great touchscreen. The display is a 13.3-inch WUXGA IPS panel with 1920 x 1200 resolution, 100% sRGB color, and 300 nits of brightness.