According to analysis undertaken by the analytic companies Gartner and IDC, the rise (up from years of decline) is down to a combination of business customers undergoing the necessary upgrade to Windows 10 (given Microsoft’s impending withdrawing of support for earlier operating systems), and from gamers.
According to IDC’s figures, shipments totaled 62.3 million units (a 2.7 increase); whereas Gartner is more conservative, showing a 62.1 million units rise (a 1.4 percent increase).
In terms of the types of systems seeing the greatest levels of growth, mid-range devices do not feature. Growth is with both premium models and entry-level machines. For IDC, this is specifically with Chrome OS-based devices, premium notebooks, and gaming PCs. According to Engadget, in 2017 computers for gamers became quite expensive due to the popularity with cryptocurrency; now this has simmered down, PCs are more affordable for home use.
In terms of future growth, Gartner’s analysis sees little coming from consumers other than hardened gamers. According to Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner: “In the consumer space, the fundamental market structure, due to changes on PC user behavior, still remains, and continues to impact market growth. Consumers are using their smartphones for even more daily tasks, such as checking social media, calendaring, banking and shopping, which is reducing the need for a consumer PC.” The company also thinks that buisness use will drop once Windows 10 is fully established.
