Personal computer demand falls by a record amount

Falling global demand for personal computers (PC) saw shipments fall by a record 10.6% in the fourth quarter from a year ago, according to market research firm IDC.

About 71.9 million units were shipped in the period, which includes the key Christmas shopping season.

PC demand has been hit by competition from smartphones and tablets, along with longer lifecycles for PCs.

Shipments fell in all regions around the world and have declined for five quarters in a row, according to IDC's figures.

Rival research firm Gartner also said shipments were down. Using different methodology, it saw a fall of 8.3% in the fourth quarter from a year ago.

Other factors that contributed to the decline in shipments included economic issues such as falling commodity prices, weaker currencies, turmoil in financial markets driven by China, as well social tensions in the Middle East.

Apple's emergence

Apple was the only top five PC maker to see shipments grow last year, up over 6%, while Acer saw the biggest fall, of more more than 18%.

"Consumer sentiment toward PCs remains a challenge, though clearly there are pockets of growth," said IDC research manager Jay Chou in a statement.

"Even as mainstream desktop and notebooks see their lifetimes stretched ever longer, Apple's emergence as a top five global PC vendor in 2015 shows that there can be strong demand for innovative, even premium-priced systems that put user experience first."

Chinese tech giant Lenovo, however, remained at the top of the market - owning more than 20% of it. HP followed in second place, with Dell third and Apple and ASUS tied for the fourth spot.

Source: BBC