Global PC shipments fall by 5% in Q2 2016, Lenovo dips but remains market leader

IDC and Gartner have both predicted continued gloomy outlook for the PC market.

Lenovo ThinkPad T440s — Chinese PC maker Lenovo still rules the market Lenovo

PC shipments suffered a 5% fall compared to the same period last year, and marked the seventh consecutive quarter of decline, according to Gartner and IDC. Lenovo, which dipped by 2%, continued to remain the leader with over 20% market share.

According to the Gartner report, Lenovo and HP together account for almost 40% of the market share with Dell following a close third at 15.2%. Asus and Apple have similar market shares but the MacBook maker has been projected as the biggest loser with a -4.9% fall in growth compared to last year.

The slow growth of Apple has been mainly attributed to increased competition from other manufacturers as well as consumers waiting for the upgraded MacBook Pro lineup. While data collected for Gartner includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premiums, it does not take Chromebooks into consideration.

The IDC report says: "The PC market continues to struggle as we wait for replacements to accelerate, along with some return of spending from phones, tablets, and other IT. Our long-term outlook remains cautious. However, the strong results in the US offer a glimpse of what the market could look like with pockets of growth and a stronger overall environment. It's not dramatic growth, but it could push the market into positive territory slightly ahead of our forecast for 2018."

In the IDC report too Lenovo, HP and Dell dominate the market while Asus and Apple follow. However, IDC estimates Apple's growth to be down by a higher margin of 8.3% as compared to Gartner's 4.9%. The report indicates 62.4 million shipments of PCs for the second quarter of 2016.

Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q16 (Thousands of Units)

Company	2Q16 Shipments	2Q16 Market Share (%)	2Q15 Shipments	2Q15 Market Share (%)	2Q16-2Q15 Growth (%)
Lenovo	13,198	20.5	13,491	19.9	-2.2
HP Inc.	12,284	19.1	12,063	17.8	1.8
Dell	9,788	15.2	9,490	14.0	3.1
Asus	4,695	7.3	4,637	6.8	1.3
Apple	4,559	7.1	4,793	7.1	-4.9
Acer	4,417	6.9	4,401	6.5	0.4
Others	15,354	23.9	18,975	28.0	-19.1
Total	64,295	100.0	67,851	100.0	-5.2

IDC and Gartner are two independent market research companies but over time their figures have shown similar trends with minor fluctuations in actual figures. Both companies warned that the PC market may continue to dip amid innovations in tablets and two-in-one devices.