The last quarter saw a tiny improvement in overall PC shipments, and for one manufacturer it brought even better news: HP regained the crown of “World’s Top PC Maker”, wrestling it out of Lenovo’s hands for the first time since 2013, when the Chinese company first overtook HP.
This is according to research group IDC, which released its latest PC market research report recently.
IDC says that worldwide PC shipments hit 60.3 million units in the first quarter of 2017, and while it wasn’t a huge gain over the same quarter last year, it did at least show growth of 0.6%.
These figures indicate a slight recovery in the PC market, according to IDC, and the first time since the first quarter of 2012 that the PC market has shown growth.
Strong laptop sales and a 13.1% year-on-year increase in worldwide shipments contributed to HP’s achievement; conversely, Lenovo was held back by weak performance in the Chinese market and worldwide shipments of just 12.3 million.
While these latest figures are looking good, analysts believe current sales are held back somewhat by rising PC prices, owing in some part to the shortage of NAND and DRAM chips used in storage and memory components. Unfortunately that looks set to continue, as analysts expect prices of those components to rise even more.
Much of HP’s success has been attributed to cutting out low-end models and concentrating instead on the lucrative mid-to-high-level markets.
And the company has done a stellar job of invigorating those segments with products like the new Omen X Desktop (pictured above in the header image) – a desktop PC that sports unique design elements and the kind of high-end hardware intended to appeal to gamers – its gorgeous Spectre x360 Ultrabook range and its new Omen gaming laptops.
Striking looks and impressive performance are to be found in all three product ranges, and they are clearly catching the eyes of discerning buyers.
Even though the “Top PC Maker” award could just as easily change hands again next quarter, for this one at least, HP can sit back and enjoy its well-deserved accolades.
