Analyst Gartner forecasts PC, tablet and smartphone shipments to fall by 9.5%, 9% and 7.1% respectively this year, as multiple issues impacting sales are compounded. He says that this decline will be in double digits in China and Eastern Europe.
The reasons why Gartner predicted such pessimistic numbers include inflation, the war in Ukraine and a shortage of supplies. “A spectacular storm of geopolitical turmoil, high inflation, currency fluctuations and supply chain disruptions has slashed business and consumer demand across the globe and is poised to hit the PC market the hardest in 2022,” Gartner senior director analyst Ranjit Atwal said in a statement. “Consumer PC demand is declining 13.1% in 2022 and will decline much faster than business PC demand expected to drop 7.2% year over year.”
While the return to office probably won’t give any boost to PC sales, smartphone sales will pick up in 2023 with demand for 5G devices. Gartner says that next year, many people will consider replacing their 4G devices that are starting to reach the end of their life, and will choose a 5G-equipped phone.
It is stated that 5G phone sales will reach 710 million units, an increase of 29% compared to 2021, but it will still be lower than previous estimates. Analysts had predicted a 47% increase at the start of the year, but the 29% increase means 95 million fewer 5G phones will be sold.
Unfortunately, the company cannot predict where PC sales will go in the coming years.
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