The PC market is in rough shape and new projections from IDC show that we’re probably not even close to hitting bottom yet. According to IDC’s latest numbers, PC shipments will decline by 7.8% in 2013 and will continue to fall by another 1.2% in 2014. The firm sees a slower decline in 2014 mostly because companies that still use Windows XP will likely upgrade to Windows 8 machines once Microsoft stops supporting the older operating system next year. The continued fall of the PC market is still being driven by the rise of tablets as portable computing devices that can serve users’ web browsing needs at a much lower cost than traditional PCs.
“Many users are realizing that everyday computing, such as accessing the Web, connecting to social media, sending emails, as well as using a variety of apps, doesn’t require a lot of computing power or local storage,” says IDC analyst Loren Loverde. “Instead, they are putting a premium on access from a variety of smaller devices with longer battery life, an instant-on function, and intuitive touch-centric interfaces. These users have not necessarily given up on PCs as a platform for computing when a more robust environment is needed, but this takes a smaller share of computing time, and users are making do with older systems.”
