In quarter four of 2018 (2018Q4), Australia’s personal computer market experienced a -2.5% year-on-year (YoY) decline in unit shipments, according to the latest IDC research. However, Macs did a bit better.
This is a sharp departure from the strong 2018Q2 and 2018Q3 results of YoY growth of 8.9% and 9.6% respectively. However, Mac shipments rose slightly to approximately .65 million units during quarter four. Apple is now the fourth largest personal computer in Australia, per IDC, which doesn’t count iPads in its personal computer tallies.
The Australian personal computer market for the 2018 calendar year saw commercial devices grow 9.2% while consumer devices shrank -3.0%. Competition from mobile devices, the slow pace of innovation and improvement in mainstream personal computer [PC] devices, and a disappointing gaming graphics hardware refresh cycle are all contributing to the extended life span of the consumer PC device, says Sean Ashari, market analyst at IDC Australia. IDC predicts that Australia’s PC market in 2019 will decline at -3.0% YoY.
“Australia is expected to experience the continued decline in consumer PC shipments as a result of falling house prices, shrinking household savings, and uncertainty around interest rates”, says Ashari. “In 2019, government and exporting businesses are expected to increase spending on PC devices, while locally trading businesses face a slow decline in business confidence.”
