• Global PC shipments grew 3.1% YoY in Q2 2024; AI PCs remain the most popular topic in PC industry.
• Apple is waiting for the M4 MacBook launch to regain shipment momentum.
• Arm-based AI laptops will be another driver for Arm PCs and will capture more than 25% market share in 2027.
• We reiterate a ~3% YoY shipment growth forecast for 2024, driven by AI PC and replacement demand.

Seoul, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, San Diego, Taipei, Tokyo – July 16, 2024

Global PC shipments grew 3.1% YoY in Q2 2024 to reach 62.5 million PC device units, the market’s second consecutive quarterly YoY growth in shipments, according to Counterpoint’s preliminary data. The growth, which was driven by a moderate replacement cycle and a low base YoY, highlights the global PC market’s continued recovery momentum in 2024. AI PCs remain the most popular topic in the PC industry. Laptops with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X platform have begun to trigger the first wave of the AI laptop boom. The upcoming AMD Ryzen AI 300 and Intel Lunar Lake in the second half of Q3 2024 will further drive the popularity of AI PCs. Despite a lull in demand in China, Lenovo remained the leader among PC vendors, leaving the June quarter with a 23.6% market share and ~4% YoY shipment growth. HP and Dell were relatively flat in the quarter, supported by order recovery in North America. HP had a 21% market share in Q2 2024, while Dell had 16%. Apple remained quiet in the latest quarter with an 8.5% market share. The company is waiting for the launch of the next-generation M4-based MacBook to regain shipment momentum in late 2024. Overall, we see Q2 2024 brand rankings and shares largely unchanged. AI laptops will expand the AI PC market in H2 2024, driven especially by surging Windows on Arm AI devices at the end of Q2 2024. These Qualcomm Snapdragon-based solutions feature better battery efficiency than the dominating x86 camp. In our view, MediaTek and NVIDIA’s partnership on next-generation Arm-based AI laptop solutions will also be another driver to Arm PC market share expansion in 2025-2026 at the expense of x86 vendors. We project Arm PCs to capture more than 25% market share in 2027. Commenting on AI PC development, Senior Analyst William Li said, “H2 2024 will be the battlefield for AI PCs. Vendors are paving the way for the proliferation of AI PCs and the rise of a brand-new technology generation. However, due to the higher selling price of AI PCs, we believe enterprise (commercial) demand will run ahead of the mainstream consumer sector, although we may not see the most rapid adoption path in the first year of AI PCs. As more AI use cases and solutions are developed and applied to PCs, we will see the deployment accelerate in the future. Benefitting from AI PC demand and the replacement cycle after COVID-19, we reiterate our view of ~3% PC shipment growth in 2024.” Background Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media, and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects, and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry. Follow Counterpoint Research press(at)counterpointresearch.com