PCs are more popular than they have been since 2008 – bottlenecks expected by 2022
The corona pandemic forced many employees to retrofit their home office hardware in 2020. (Photo: Shutterstock)
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The corona pandemic has created record-breaking demand for laptops and desktop PCs. According to analysts, around 300 million of the devices will have gone over the counter in 2020.
According to analysts, there has not been such great demand for laptops and desktops since 2008 – shortly after the debut of Apple’s iPhone. The device groups known in the industry as PCs are said to have sold over 300 million times in the year that is ending. The last time a sales of this size was posted was in 2008. Then it went back to up to 250 million PCs sold.
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Renaissance of the PC market due to Corona
Few expected a renaissance of the tumbling PC market – but the corona crisis with the home office boom has now ensured that. For 2020, analysts see an increase of 15 percent compared to 2019 and reaching the 300 million mark, such as Reuters writes. There has been even greater growth in tablet PCs. The analysis company Canalys expects 1.77 billion PCs and tablets in households worldwide by 2021. In 2019 it should have been 1.64 billion.
The entire supply chain has recently been more tense than ever, said Acer manager Gregg Prendergast. The manufacturer is therefore now relying on airplanes instead of ships and trains for deliveries – this should allow one month of delivery time. Overall, according to industry representatives and analysts, manufacturers will still have difficulties processing the orders for months. Components such as screens and processors are scarce. There is talk of bottlenecks until 2022.
New PC models will further fuel demand in 2021
This is also due to the fact that many countries – in response to the Corona-related homeschooling requirements – have released financial resources to equip schools and teachers with computers. With the new PC models announced for the coming months, which should be equipped with 4G and 5G modems, AI support or better cameras for video conferences, demand should also be further fueled, according to Reuters, industry observers expect.
