Increased Availability of COVID-19 Vaccines Shifted Consumer Demand Away from PCs.
Worldwide PC shipments totaled 84.1 million units in the third quarter of 2021, an increase of 1% from the third quarter of 2020, according to preliminary results by
'As many schools worldwide reopened, there was no longer an immediate need for PCs and Chromebooks to support at-home education,' said
'Business PC demand remained strong, led by economic recovery in key regions and the return of some workers to offices,' added Kitagawa. 'However, business PC growth was concentrated in the desktop segment as semiconductor shortages continued to constrain laptop shipments. These component shortages are expected to persist into the first half of 2022.'
Beginning this quarter, Gartner has included Chromebooks in its traditional PC market results. Chromebook shipments declined 17% in the third quarter of 2021, due to decreased demand in the education market. This was the first double-digit year-over-year decline in Chromebook sales since its introduction to the market in 2011.
The top three vendors in the worldwide PC market remained unchanged year-over-year, with Lenovo maintaining the No. 1 spot in shipments (see Table 1).
Table 1. Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q21 (Thousands of Units)
Company
3Q21 Shipments
3Q21 Market Share (%)
3Q20 Shipments
3Q20 Market Share (%)
3Q21-3Q20 Growth (%)
Lenovo
19,945
23.7
19,601
23.5
1.8
17,624
20.9
18,718
22.5
5.8
15,242
18.1
12,048
14.5
26.5
Apple
7,222
8.6
6,725
8.1
7.4
6,036
7.2
6,327
7.6
4.6
6,028
7.2
5,714
6.9
5.5
Others
12,049
14.3
14,153
17.0
14.9
Total
84,147
100.0
83,286
100.0
1.0
Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs, ultramobile premiums (such as
Source: Gartner (
After five consecutive quarters of double-digit growth, Lenovo's growth was tempered in the third quarter of 2021. Lenovo saw growth in all regions except
HP experienced its second consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline, driven by a 30% decrease in shipments in the
After lagging early in the pandemic,
Apple still managed to achieve 7.4% growth despite a weak consumer market. The company's M1-based PCs have been well received by the user community, driving increased shipments. However, anticipating a potential product refresh in coming months, some Apple buyers have put laptop purchases on hold, which negatively affected 3Q21 shipment volumes.
Regional Overview
After five consecutive quarters of double-digit growth, the
'The device-per-student ratio in the
Table 2. Preliminary
Company
3Q21 Shipments
3Q21 Market Share (%)
3Q20 Shipments
3Q20 Market Share (%)
3Q21-3Q20 Growth (%)
5,624
26.1
5,102
21.6
10.2
5,284
24.5
7,591
32.1
30.4
Lenovo
3,578
16.6
2,937
15.0
1.1
Apple
3,240
15.0
3,538
12.4
10.3
1,320
6.1
1,666
7.1
20.8
Others
2,501
11.6
2,784
11.8
10.2
Total
21,548
100.0
23,618
100.0
8.8
Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs, ultramobile premiums (such as
Source: Gartner (
The EMEA PC market grew 11.8% year over year to 23.5 million units, also reflecting a mixed picture of strong business demand and weakening consumer demand. Desktop PCs showed a robust growth of 23% year-over-year.
Excluding
'Unlike businesses in
Looking ahead, the fourth quarter of 2021 will see the global rollout of
These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner's PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe.
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