Worldwide combined shipments of devices, incorporating PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones, are expected to reach 2.5 billion units in 2015, a 1.5 per cent increase from 2014 and down from the previous quarter's forecast of 2.8 per cent growth.
According to Gartner, end-user spending on devices will total US$606 billion in 2015 and will show, for the first time since 2010, a 5.7 per cent decline in current U.S. dollars.
“Our forecast for unit shipment growth for all devices in 2015 has dropped by 1.3 percentage points from last quarter's estimate,” says Ranjit Atwal, research director, Gartner.
“This was partly due to a continued slowdown in PC purchases in Western Europe, Russia and Japan in particular, largely due to price increases resulting from local currency devaluation against the dollar.”
Atwal says that the only market that continues to show growth is the mobile phone market where, in contrast, prices continue to fall.
Meanwhile, the emerging markets are driving the smartphone market upward, with China leading the way.
According to Gartner’s findings, the end of the migration from Windows XP negatively affected the PC market globally during the first half of 2015; however, the greater impact remains the currency depreciation against the dollar.
PC vendors are increasingly reducing their inventory levels - by at least 5 per cent until the end of 2015 - as a way to minimise pricing exposure in the channel.
The global PC shipment market is expected to total 300 million units in 2015, a decline of 4.5 per cent year on year.
“We do not expect the global PC market to recover until 2016," Atwal adds.
“The release of Windows 10 on July 29 will contribute to a slowing professional demand for mobile PCs and premium ultramobiles in 2015, as lifetimes extend by three months.