- PC shippings are rising but they are affected by customs impacts
- Notebooks are far more popular than desktops
- Consumers could upgrade a lot of next year
Although President Trump’s tariffs continue to create uncertainty in the PC industry, new figures have suggested that unit shipments continue to rise, and now it may be the best time to upgrade if you are on the market.
During the second quarter of 2025, industrial experts are tracked on Canaly’s 67.6 million units sent globally, an increase of 7.4% year-over-year.
IDC, another market survey company, which tasks with monitoring the industry, traces 68.4 million shipments that mark a smaller but equally healthy 6.5% increase in the year over year.
PC shippings continue to rise
A recent US-Vietnam trade agreement has introduced a 20% duty on Vietnamese goods and a 40% duty on transhipped goods such as Chinese parts that have been collected in Vietnam, which helps keep a ceiling on the cost of consumers.
At the same time, we also see more suppliers increasing the stock as they hammer cheap devices before customs health -insecurity strings, which potentially results in more expensive tariffs for certain imports.
Although desktops (9%) saw greater growth than notebooks (7%), notebooks still account for about four out of five of all PC shipments globally.
However, much of the growth can be attributed to corporate customers. Companies have been more active than consumers in upgrading devices in response to the upcoming Windows 10 support training, with consumers more likely to hold on to their device for a longer period of time.
Although MACs only account for about one in ten PCs sent, Apple saw the healthiest quarterly growth of 21.3% thanks to a strong demand for new M4-powered models and the company could be in similar growth next quarter, with its back-to-school offerings that come into force in the last days in the last quarter.
Looking ahead, demand could grow when more consumers seem to upgrade their devices, potentially push prices up and make now the best time to upgrade.
Canalys research manager Kieren Jessop explained: “We expect the consumer’s PC market to grow next year as it coincides with a potential update cycle of Covid era units that begin to reach the end of their lives.”
