Canalys: PC Shipments Up, Apple And Lenovo Lead The Way

Shipments of PCs rose for the first time in a long time, showing 5% growth year over year. Tablet shipments slowed, but were still up 21% over this time in 2013. When it comes to PCs, Apple still leads the way, but Lenovo is your new PC champion.

This info comes to us via Canalys, and highlight overall growth (or lack thereof) as well as how technology fares the world over. When it came to tablets, the market slowed largely due to Apple shipping less units, instead choosing to run down existing stock in the wake of a very aggressive holiday shopping push. Things will be fine, though, with Canalys Senior Analyst Tim Coulling noting "Apple took action during the quarter to run down its iPad inventory, a smart move as tablet stock in the channel rose due to strong seasonal shipments in the previous quarter. Longer term, we do not believe Apple's Q1 performance points to a decline in the tablet category, despite growing pressure from larger-screen smart phones."

PC shipments were up overall, largely due to Lenovo's exciting new offerings. With new form factors and aggressive pricing, Lenovo vaulted to the top of the heap, increasing their market share to 15% from 12%. Lenovo is also gaining lost market share in China, where shipments are starting to level off. Lenovo also did well in the EMEA region, where they were up 61% over last year.

As tablets move to encroach on the PC market even further, Lenovo's various offerings look to stem the onslaught. Their line of convertible and adjustable PCs make for very attractive offerings to those looking for an all-in-one that truly is. As Canalys Analyst James Wang put it, "Unlike Apple, with its 'one size fits all' tablet strategy, Lenovo and others are free to tailor tablets to specific market segments."

Source: Canalys