Global shipments of devices-- PCs, tablets and mobile phones-- are set to total 2.16 billion units in 2020, Gartner reports, a "slight recovery" of 0.9% over 2019 shipments reaching 2.15bn units.
One driver for such improvement is the increased availability of 5G smartphones. In fact, the analyst predicts the global mobile phone market will grow by 1.7% in 2020, if thanks to Greater China and emerging markets in Asia/Pacific. 5G models should account for 12% of 2020 mobile phone shipments, before reaching 43% in 2022 as prices decrease, 5G coverage increases and customers have better experience with such devices.
The same cannot be said for the PC market. After a 2019 return to growth, PC shipments remain forecast to decline in 2020 and beyond. The end of the migration to Windows 10 will obviously affect the 2020 market, as replacement levels will decrease after 3 years of growth in the professional segment. However the professional segment will still see some bright spots, such as the "long tail" of upgrades from SMBs in emerging regions reacting to the January 2020 end of Windows 7 support.
“The PC market’s future is unpredictable because there will not be a Windows 11," Gartner concludes. "Instead, Windows 10 will be upgraded systematically through regular updates. As a result, peaks in PC hardware upgrade cycles driven by an entire Windows OS upgrade will end.”
Go Gartner Forecast: PCs, Ultramobiles and Mobile Phones, Worldwide, 2017-2023, Q4 2019 Update
