Device Shipments Will Increase 2% in 2018

Device Shipments Will Increase 2% in 2018
Fotolia

Worldwide shipments of PCs, tablets and smartphones are predicted to exceed 2.35 billion units in 2018, an increase of 2% from 2017, according to Gartner. This would be the highest year-over-year growth since 2015. The misconception persists that the world has gone mobile and relies solely on smartphones.

"However, our latest online end-user survey shows that users depend just as much on PCs or tablets as they do on smartphones," said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. "40% of respondents said that they use mostly a PC/tablet for certain daily experiences, such as reading and writing detailed emails or watching videos, while 34% mostly use a smartphone for its convenience while on the move. Users holding onto their PCs for longer remains a major issue for the PC market. In contrast, users continue to replace their smartphone quite frequently," Atwal added.

Traditional PC shipments are forecast to decline 4.4% in 2018 while mobile phone shipments are expected to increase 2.4%. Business PC shipments are estimated to return to growth by the end of 2017, driven by faster Windows 10 replacement in many regions, especially in Western Europe. Gartner estimates that the PC market is set to return to 0.8% growth in 2018.

This upward trend is assisted by two factors. The PC market in Russia has been positively influenced by an upturn in the country's economic prospects, which has seen business spending on PCs increase by 5% in 2017. This growth will persist into 2018. Spending is primarily focused on desktop PCs, which are more aggressively priced than mobile PCs or hybrid devices.

The second factor is China, where the move to Windows 10 has been delayed due to security and privacy issues, leading to slow PC sales in 2017. However, Microsoft is now working with a Chinese government agency to develop a government-approved version. Mobile phone sales are expected to return to year-over-year growth in 2018, with shipments totaling 1.9 billion units. Smartphones will represent 86% of total mobile phone shipments in 2018, up 6% from 2017.

Gartner expects Apple's iPhone X to be the sales driver in North America, China and Western Europe, despite its high price. "Given the late November availability of the iPhone X, we expect the iPhone's replacement cycle to flow more strongly into 2018," said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner.

Worldwide Device Shipments by Device Type, 2016-2019 (Millions of Units)

Device Type

2016

2017

2018

2019

Traditional PCs

220

204

195

188

Ultramobiles (Premium)

50

59

70

81

Total PC Market

270

263

265

269

Ultramobiles (Basic and Utility)

169

162

161

160

Computing Device Market

439

425

426

429

Mobile Phones

1,893

1,882

1,926

1,932

Total Device Market

2,332

2,307

2,352

2,361