In a bad situation (the pandemic), there’s some good news for Apple’s new M1 Macs, as well as the iPad: the ongoing surge in PC demand is expected to continue as work from home and remote education needs mix with the holiday spending season.
According to a new International Data Corporation (IDC) forecast, shipments of desktop and notebook personal computers will grow 18.2% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2020 (4Q20), followed by 1.4% growth in 2021. The popularity of mobile devices is apparent with notebook personal computers expected to grow 26.4% year over year in 4Q20 and 3.2% in 2021 while desktops will decline in both periods. Looking beyond 2021, IDC expects personal computers shipments will eventually slow and experience some declines, but it seems that the pandemic has infused the market with new energy.
The tablet market has also experienced growth resulting from the COVID-19 lockdowns and IDC expects total tablet shipments to grow 10% year over year in 2020. Most of the demand has been for detachable tablets led convincingly by Apple’s iPad lineup.
