The global personal computing device market, which includes traditional PCs and tablets, is expected to grow by 2.6 percent in 2024, reaching nearly 400 million units shipped. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the traditional PC market will remain flat this year with 261 million units, while the tablet market is forecast to grow by 7.2 percent year-over-year. The growth in the tablet market is driven by aggressive competition among Android vendors, particularly in emerging regions such as Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan), China, and Central and Eastern Europe.
Anuroopa Nataraj, a senior research analyst at IDC, states that adoption rates for tablets are expected to climb in the short term as newer models with upgraded features hit the market. However, the long-term growth potential for tablets remains flat due to competition from more powerful smartphones and limited functionality compared to PCs. In contrast, the traditional PC market is expected to grow by 4.3 percent year-over-year in 2025, driven by a refresh cycle as Windows 10 support comes to an end.
Tablet market driven by competition
This presents an opportunity for Apple to gain market share, potentially growing from 9.1 percent in 2024 to 9.7 percent in 2025 and 10.2 percent in 2026, as businesses migrate some workflows to Mac during the refresh cycle. AI continues to play a significant role in shaping the PC landscape, although it has yet to become a primary purchase driver among buyers.
Jitesh Ubrani, a research manager at IDC, notes that businesses recognize the importance of AI but struggle to see immediate use cases, opting for AI PCs as a means of future-proofing. Consumers, on the other hand, have yet to fully grasp the importance of on-board Neural Processing Units (NPUs) and may require more education from manufacturers. The inclusion of NPUs and early hardware requirements for AI use cases is leading to more premium devices with increased memory and storage, which is expected to result in higher average selling prices in the coming years.
While the near-term outlook for AI PCs remains modest, the long-term trend points towards a proliferation of AI PCs as NPUs become standard across all tiers of PCs. Microsoft’s recent announcement ending its period of exclusivity with Qualcomm for Copilot+ PCs and the introduction of laptops powered by Intel’s new 200V processors and AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series chips with Copilot+ features are expected to provide consumers with more choices and lower prices for AI PCs, making them even more attractive for those looking to upgrade their laptops.
