Traditional PCs will see an increase of 2.8% globally, with the exception of China, which will raise shipments to 261 million devices. At the same time, the tablet market will see the biggest growth this year, with shipments increasing by 7.2%, including in China, where demand remains high, thanks in part to Huawei's efforts.
According to preliminary forecasts, the PC market is expected to grow by 4.3% in 2025 compared to 2024. This will be driven by the end of Windows 10 support. At the same time, this will also enable Apple to increase its market share from 9.1% in 2024 to 9.7% in 2025 and to 10.2% in 2026 due to businesses that will use the end of Windows 10 support to switch to Macs.
At the same time, the number of AI PCs, including Copilot+ computers, will grow on the market, and IDC notes that the main factor will be the usual need for new PCs, not AI computers.
""While AI has been a buzzword of late, it has yet to be a purchase driver among PC buyers. Businesses certainly recognize the importance of AI though many struggle to see the immediate use case and instead are opting for AI PCs as a means to futureproofing. Meanwhile, consumers are yet to fully grasp the importance of an on-board Neural Processing Unit (NPU) and are likely to need more education or handholding from OEMs," says Jitesh Ubrani, Research Manager at Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers.
While the short-term prospects for AI computers with built-in NPUs are still quite modest, the long-term trend for such computers indicates that AI PCs will take over the market. This is partly due to the fact that NPU and other advantages of such computers are starting to be extended to cheaper models.