IDC

After years of declining shipment figures, the traditional PC market, made up of desktops, notebooks, and tablet computers that aren't Chromebooks and iPads, have finally seen a tiny bit of growth in the second quarter of the year. Almost tragically, that growth happened only because the world was plunged into a period of uncertainty, change, and a pandemic. But while the world's PC makers may be delighted to finally see some positive numbers, both Gartner and IDC seem to agree that it's not going to last.

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There has been a surge in demand for consumer electronics in the past few weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic that is gripping our world. The need for both entertainment devices like TVs and consoles as well as productivity tools like phones and computers have never been higher during periods of quarantines and lockdowns. That situation should be a boon to the ailing PC industry and, to some extent, it did have some positive impact. Ironically, the same situation that has caused a spike in demand is also causing a big dip in shipments as well.

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It hasn't even been half a year since IDC and other market analysts started reporting a slight reprieve for tablet manufacturers. Defying quarter after quarter of trends, the tablet market grew just a little bit in the third quarter of 2019. That might have just been a fluke, however, as the numbers now return to its downward slope in the last quarter of 2019, despite the usual sales surge brought about by the holiday shopping spree.

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With AirPods, Apple has the largest presence in the wearables market today, by a long shot. Unit shipment tracking in the wearables market for Q3 of 2019 showed Apple ahead of the pack, by a long shot. According to the IDC, Apple had 35% of the entire world's wearables market, with the closest competitor coming in with just 14.6% (that's Xiaomi, Samsung was 3rd with 9.8%). It's like Apple created the product to which all other products are compared - which should seem familiar if you've been watching tech news for the past decade.

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IDC has released its preliminary smartphone shipment figures for the third quarter of 2018, and things are looking a little rough for the industry. IDC found that shipments were down once again in the quarter, making Q3 the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline. The good news for manufacturers is that IDC doesn't expect this trend to last, as it thinks the market will begin growing again next year.

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Not too long ago, almost every annual or quarterly tech market report would come with some bad news or prophecy. The PC market is dead or is at least dying, made obsolete by smartphones and even tablets (which are now also dying). And yet, the PC market still exists and has even grown just a bit last quarter. This quarter saw flat growth or even a decline but analysts now see and agree: the PC ain't no dinosaur on the verge of extinction.

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The US government has started to close in on Huawei and, more recently, ZTE over national security concerns. Perhaps in retaliation, Huawei has seemingly been limiting the availability of its smartphones in the US. Now the Chinese company may be showing its true power, which could give the US even more reason to be worried. According to IDC, Huawei has just overtaken US-based Apple as the world’s largest smartphone vendor. It may be temporary but still proves the growing strength of Huawei’s brand.

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For years now, prophets of doom have been talking about the death of the PC. To some extent, they are right. The PC of old have gone the way of the dodo and today’s PCs have very little in common with them. Last week, both Gartner and IDC published numbers that, for the first time in six years, showed growth for the steadily shrinking market. And while both market researchers advise cautious optimism, it’s hard to deny the trend that their statistics show: the PC isn’t going anywhere.

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The Android versus iOS war may often be phrased in terms of Pixel vs iPhone, but new sales stats for Google's Pixel suggest there's a long way to go before Apple needs to be worried. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL launched last year to no shortage of enthusiasm from Android fans, replacing handsets that had been equally lauded by vocal users.

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Aggressive pricing pushed Amazon's tablets ahead of Samsung last quarter, but even with Apple's iPad holding strong in pole position it may take a form-factor change to keep the segment moving. Sales of tablets slowed dramatically in 2017, according to the new Q4 2017 numbers from IDC, though some subcategories managed a little growth. Still, there are clear signs that consumers aren't going to settle for just a big display in order to open their wallet.

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In the game of smartphone thrones, you never wear the crown for long. While Apple and Samsung always occupy the top two spots, who is above whom varies by the quarter or even data source. It seems that, for the last quarter of last year, Apple managed to win the blue ribbon against eternal rival Samsung. But while Apple fans may want to celebrate this victory, it might be short-lived for the industry as a whole. According to IDC, global smartphone shipments actually declined by 6.3% in Q4 2017 compared to the same period the year before.

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This year is the first in smartphone hardware in a long time in which I felt like no game-changing changes came from any company. The smartphones revealed by HTC, Samsung, Apple, and the rest - they were all solid. But we've reached a point in the history of the smartphone where only the very rich should consider buying a new device every single year. Let me tell you why.

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