Posted on 01/15/2023 6:01:18 AM PST by fluorescence
It's no secret that the conditions were ripe for a steep drop in PC demand this holiday, but now it's clear just how bad that plunge really was. Gartner and IDC estimate PC shipments fell by more than 28 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2022. That's the steepest quarterly decline Gartner has ever recorded — no mean feat when it began tracking the computer market in the 1990s. Both analyst groups also saw yearly shipments fall by more than 16 percent in 2022 compared to the year earlier.
Some manufacturers suffered more of a blow than others. The top three brands, Lenovo, HP and Dell, saw their shipments tumble between 29 percent and 37 percent in late 2022 compared to a year earlier. Acer took a staggering 41 percent hit, according to Gartner. Fourth-place Apple took a relatively light blow, although that still meant its shipments dropped by as much as 10 percent.
Gartner and IDC share the same explanation. PC sales soared in 2021 as people continued to work from home during the pandemic, but that interest tanked as people gradually returned to the office. Moreover, a worsening global economy left people with less money to spend on upgrades. Would-be customers either had a recent PC or had trouble affording a new one, to put it simply.
IDC is quick to put the seeming freefall into context. While the quarterly and yearly drops were sharp, shipments in 2022 were still "well above" pre-pandemic figures, according to researchers. While demand still looks grim, the market was still stronger than before.
Just don't expect the PC's heyday to return for a while. Neither analyst group expects the market to recover in earnest until 2024, and IDC only sees "pockets of opportunity" in 2023. Whether they like it or not, PC makers may have to brace themselves and hope that a combination of new designs and price cuts will sustain interest for the next year.
I’m on my third rebuild of my PC which I originally bought as a custom build. By now probably only the case and a few switches are original. Installing new components only takes a screwdriver. I’m fortunate my son also builds his own PCs mainly for gaming and I get his hand me down components. I use my PC primarily for editing digital photos and bill paying and use a tablet or phone for just about everything else.
Younger Millennials and Gen-Z see no reason to have a desktop or a laptop as they do everything with their smartphones and tablets.
“Also for some absurd reason, T-Mobile lowered the trade-in values of their cell phones.”
Why do you think them making more money is an absurd reasonn? Absurd for whom?
And I need a new Windows 11 desktop and support for my Windows 7 system is gone.
Another part is that nowadays, a phone can do the functions of a PC, and
A wristwatch can do the functions of a phone.
The biggest part?
Inflation, looming unemployment, large amounts of personal debt, and fear of recessions along with loss of trust in government all lead to lowered spending on optional goods, especially fairly durable ones.
Most Americans under the age of 30 have grown up with a Linux-based computer on their hip or in their pocket for 16 hours of the day. They find their hand-held digital devices are all the PC they need.
It's been all laptops, iPads and iPhones since.
That market segment is untraceable, and also probably pretty small. All the stats come from the big companies, cause they’re big and publish stats. Your local parts places aren’t big, and really don’t know if the parts they sold are going to new computers or upgrades or who knows. And they don’t publish stats, and nobody wants to collect them if they did.
Multicore, fast processors starting in the early 2000’s made this inevitable. At some point, you get all the power (for most home and business and even industrial work) you need, and high enough quality and longevity in a quality computer to last 6-10 years before needing a replacement. There’s nothing special or unexpected about this being reported now. It was the same even four or five years ago now. High quality hardware and software are commodities now. That’s good for the consumer.
I see I used “now” way too much up there. I’m like, um, totally not proud of that.
Samsung galaxy note coming up on 3rd year. Cost about 1k. Told it would no longer be supported. Looked at repl.reviews have been wither.
Put in a new battery. All well
No big deal. Leave the critical choir home
And my win7 pro sitting right next to it! Got it about a month after I got the Mac. lol
You’re born under a lucky star.!
I’ll bet corporate related sales were down, we’re headed for/in a Biden recession.
Absurd for THEM. Why? Because if they had a decent trade-in value on the cell phones, I probably would have traded in our cell phones to BUY new cell phones. But without a good trade in value we are better off hanging on to our current cell phones for an extra year or two BEYOND when we were planning to buy new cell phones at the three year mark.
I am using a desktop pc I put together in 2015.
I upgraded it over the years with Windows 7 then 10 64-bit and a total of 32gb of ram memory and a SSD hard drive and a big 32” monitor.
It is very fast. I do not see how much better a new pc can be if already my programs and files open quickly and webpages load fast.
I may build a new pc but only as a hobby and not a need.
#25 When the internet stops working as it did last week for a bit I just plugged in my keyboard and mouse and monitor to this. It requires no power cord:
USB C Laptop Docking Station
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MC76BBP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I can open a web browser and get online using the phone connection.
Indeed, considering quality plus no bloatware. Below is a quite capable low-cost build for under $500, wih 65GB RAM, not incld. OS or peripherals. May all be used for Good in the sight of God.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor | $128.97 @ Amazon |
| Thermal Compound | Arctic Silver Ceramique 2 Tri-Linear 2.7 g Thermal Paste | $3.85 @ ModMyMods |
| Motherboard | MSI PRO B550-VC ATX AM4 Motherboard | $139.99 @ Newegg |
| Memory | Silicon Power XPOWER Turbine 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory | $64.97 @ Amazon |
| Storage | TEAMGROUP MS30 512 GB M.2-2280 SATA Solid State Drive | $29.55 @ MemoryC |
| Case | DIYPC Solo-T2-BK Black USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Case | $41.93 @ Newegg |
| Power Supply | Enermax CYBERBRON 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | $42.99 @ Walmart |
| Case Fan | Xigmatek XAF 90.3 CFM 140 mm Fan | $5.99 @ Amazon |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total | $458.24 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-01-15 22:06 EST-0500 |
Not seeing a video card, either.
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