PLAYERS MARKET:
Although demand for PCs is likely to decline, the expanding market for new GPUs and esports is expected to boost sales of gaming laptops, analysts say.

• By Chen Cheng-hui / Journalist

Global PC demand could weaken next year as consumer and education spending shifts amid rising vaccination rates, KGI Securities Investment Advisory Co (凱基 投 顧) said in a report. report released this month.

PC shipments are expected to fall 2.6% year-on-year to 323.9 million units next year, from an estimated increase of 7.6% to 332.5 million units this year, KGI said , attributing the drop in PC shipments to weakness in Chromebooks and desktop PCs. Sales.

However, commercial and gaming laptops are expected to surpass the overall PC market next year, he added.

“The hybrid working model will be the new normal in the era of the pandemic, resulting in higher demand for commercial laptops than for desktops,” KGI analyst Angela Hsiang (向 子 æ…§) said and Alex Yu (ä½™ 昀 澄) in the October 15 report. “Therefore, PC vendors will strive to strengthen their products, such as those with faster processors, high-end lenses, and the ability to connect to the Internet at any time. “

In addition, the demand for gaming laptops would continue to grow next year due to the continued expansion of the esports market and the launch of new graphics processing units (GPUs), they added.

KGI predicts that Chromebook shipments will drop to 34 million units next year, from 39 million this year, due to lower demand in the education market. That would cause global laptop shipments to drop 1.9 percent year-on-year to 249.5 million units next year, from an estimated increase of 10.9 percent to 254.2 million units this year. year.

Shipments of desktop computers would fall 5% to 74.4 million units next year, after an estimated decline of 1.9% to 78.3 million units this year, he added. .

KGI’s forecast came when Gartner Inc announced on October 11 that global PC shipments were only up 1% from a year earlier to reach 84.15 million units in the third quarter.

Data from International Data Corp (IDC) released on October 10 showed global PC shipments increased 3.9% year-on-year to 86.65 million units in the third quarter, while Canalys Co said Oct. 11 that the global PC market had grown 4.9%, with shipments standing at 84.08 million units.

Rival researchers use different calculations to measure the market – Gartner defines PCs as high-end desktops, laptops and ultramobile devices, while IDC and Canalys classify them as desktops, laptops and workstations.

KGI analysts said third quarter results met their expectations, but added Chromebook shipments were lower than their estimates as demand for computers to support home education weakened after the reopening of many schools around the world.

Chromebook shipments fell 17% in the third quarter from a year ago to 7.3 million units, according to Gartner tally, marking the first double-digit annual decline in Chromebook sales since its market introduction in 2011.

KGI analysts said shortages of driver ICs, power management ICs, and GPUs, as well as logistics bottlenecks, continued to constrain PC shipments in the third quarter, and the effect is expected to persist in the first half of next year.