Gartner has released its overall forecasts for smart devices (PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones) which it expects to see decline 3% this year, after falling 0.75% last year. After that, the analyst sees a possibility of growth in the ultramobile premium class (the category includes the iPad, iPad mini, Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, Amazon Fire HD, Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 and Acer Iconia One). However, traditional PCs will decline from 216 million this year to 199 million in 2018. Smartphones are expected to remain broadly flat.
In Europe, the negative growth in the PC market is believed to be ‘bottoming out’ as currency issues stabilise.
Table 1. Worldwide Devices Shipments by Device Type, 2015-2018 (Millions of Units)
|
Device Type |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
|
Traditional PCs (Desk-Based and Notebook) |
244 |
216 |
205 |
199 |
|
Ultramobiles (Premium) |
44 |
49 |
61 |
75 |
|
PC Market |
288 |
265 |
266 |
274 |
|
Ultramobiles (Basic and Utility) |
196 |
177 |
173 |
173 |
|
Computing Devices Market |
484 |
442 |
439 |
447 |
|
Mobile Phones |
1,917 |
1,887 |
1,910 |
1,933 |
|
Total Devices Market |
2,401 |
2,329 |
2,349 |
2,380 |
Note: The Ultramobile (Premium) category includes devices such as Microsoft’s Windows 10 Intel x86 products and Apple’s MacBook Air.
Analyst Comment
Clearly the comments on currency were before the dramatic swings in sterling on the night of 6th/7th October! (BR)
